Morelli Stories
by Vixen279
Summary: This is a collection of one shots that will show how Stephanie breaks up with Morelli. This is not for Cupcakes.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him. I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli:**

* * *

 **#1 Before it Even Starts**

 **Stephanie POV**

I was desperate. That was the only reason that I would think of taking my father's suggestion and asking my pervert cousin Vinnie for a job. I gathered my strength and entered his temple of doom and saw a friendly face.

Well, sort of. Connie Rosolli went to school a few years ahead of me and we did not run in the same circles. She was a popular girl and I was an infamous girl, if the rumors about me were true. They were not! I put a smile on my face and approached Connie.

"Hey there, Connie. I am Stephanie Plum and I am here for the filing job." She gave me a sympathetic look.

"Sorry, Steph, the job has been filled. We only have an opening for a BEA." What was that?

"What is that?" She sighed and filed her nails.

"It means Bond Enforcement Agent. If you take this job, you could set your own hours and make some serious cash, Steph." Was she being serious? This sounded too good to be true.

At that moment, Vinnie came barreling out of his office wearing a blue leisure suit of all things.

"No, way! She is not being a bounty hunter! Stop telling her about that right now!" Connie stood up and started banging on things on her desk. She found what she was looking for and smashed it under her foot.

"You rat bastard! Stop eavesdropping on me!"

I turned to Vinnie. "You will hire me, Vinnie or I will tell Harry the Hammer about the duck and about Barndhart." He gets a squeamish look on his face and stomps his foot like he was having a tantrum.

"Fine!" He pouts and storms back into his office.

"Here you go, Steph! Your first case and your fee will be $10,000."

Wow! That amount of money would solve all of my money woes right now and maybe I could find a better apartment. I do not know how long I can live with an orange bathroom at the Senior Center that is my building. I am one of the only residents that is under 30.

I take the file from Connie and open it to find the mug shot of one Joseph Anthony Morelli. Perfect. I do not want anything to do with that man. I look at Connie and she is smirking at me. What a bitch.

"So, I just find Morelli and take him to the police station and I get $10K?"

She giggles at me.

"You are going to need some help. Let me call one of our other BEAs. He can give you some training."

I cannot stand her bright red nail polish wearing, moustache having, big boobed self. She is setting me up to fail. She finishes her call and hands me a card. I looked at it and it said Ranger.

She could not have just told me the guy's name? She is starting to really tick me off. I turned the card over and saw an address and a time written there. Oh. Well, she still irks me with her smug expression.

"Meet Ranger at that time and place and he will give you some pointers, Steph. Good luck."

I leave without answering her and drive my POS to the diner and sit outside. Did I really want to do this? Well, you need the money, my sensible shoulder angel told me. I had to listen to her or else I would be stuck living in hell, or with my parents.

I walked into the diner and scanned the room. I saw a drop dead gorgeous man wearing all black sitting at a table with his back against the wall. I could tell he was Cuban American and he was muscular and he was dangerous. Wow. I approached his table and asked if he was Ranger. He looked at me and those chocolate brown eyes were a killer up close. My poor panties.

"Yeah, that's me. Are you Vinnie's new bounty hunter?" I smile at him and sit down.

"Yeah, that's me." We order. I get a burger with bacon and cheese and he gets a grilled chicken salad with oil and vinegar on the side. I got a coke and he got bottled water. He needed to live a little.

He tried to talk me out of my job.

"You know, bounty hunting is not like they show it on television, Babe. It is a dangerous and dirty job." Babe?

I leaned in close to him. "Do you see that POS outside? It's mine and if I don't take this job and do this capture, I might have to live in it. So if you won't help me, I will just have to do it myself." At that moment, our food arrived and I took a big bite out of my burger.

"That stuff'll kill you, Babe." Says the guy eating rabbit food.

"Whatever, Ranger. So, will you help me to capture Morelli or what?" His mouth quirked up at the end and he reached for the file. As our hands touched, we both gasped. I felt a zing go right through me. Wow.

My shoulder devil wanted to know if his hands felt like that all over.

"Morelli, huh? Vinnie gave you this ?" I nodded with false bravado. I really do not want to deal with Morelli. He and I had bad and ancient history that I do NOT want to talk about right now.

"What kind of history, Babe?" Dammit! I said that out loud.

"Nothing, Ranger." He smiled a small smile at me.

"Listen, I ran a background check on you before meeting you and I know that you have a college degree. Would you consider working for me at my company? You would get a high five figure salary, a company car, an apartment and training. You would be working with customers and research. If you agree, I will handle this file and you can move in immediately, Babe." Was I dreaming?

"What is the catch, Ranger?" He smiled bigger.

"You will have to use the gym three times a week and you will be required to be certified with a gun. Also, you would have to realize that I am very interested in seeing you, Babe." Wow. My shoulder angel was telling me to take some time and think this over, but my shoulder devil told me to work it and even snapped her fingers. It was a no-brainer, really. I handed the file to Ranger.

"I'm in. I will want to review the work contract. As for the personal stuff, Ranger. A girl likes to be asked nicely on a date." He put the file into a messenger bag and left a $50 bill on the table and grabbed my hand.

"Babe, will you go on a date with me tomorrow night?" Hell yes.

"Only if I am the only woman you are seeing. I don't share. Ask my ex-husband." He laughed and it was a wonderful sound. He put his arm around me and led me to his car. He promised to send mine to a proper burial ground.

"Do you want me to give you the scoop on Morelli's family and all of that, Ranger?" He buckled my seatbelt and I smelled him. Damn, he smells good.

"Sure, Babe, but first, I want you to tell me your favorite colors so we can get your apartment ready." I think I am in love! No more orange bathroom from hell! As we drove to my apartment so I could pack, I thought that I might have to send Connie a fruit basket or something for setting this up.

 ** _Mini Epilogue:_**

I started dating Ranger immediately and he and the guys caught Morelli easily. I researched the case and found that he was falsely arrested and we got him released. Of course, the scuzzball tried to worm his way into my life, but that did not work. Who needs Morelli when you have Batman?


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him. I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli:**

* * *

 **#2 After Dinner at Her Parents'**

 **Stephanie POV**

My mother had called and demanded that I come to dinner and that I dress nicely for a change. She also said that she would bake a pineapple upside down cake and that I should bring the wine. If I was not hungry, I would tell her hell no.

I am 28 years old; I am not a child that she can order around. Yeah, I am also a lot braver when I am alone. Dammit, I suck a little bit. I decide to bite the bullet and go to the dinner. Maybe I would luck out and Valerie would not be there with her three kids and her baby talking husband. A girl could hope.

I was looking through my closet when I felt the tingle. I turned to see Ranger standing in my doorway staring at me.

"Looking a little crazy, there, Babe." I tried to smile, but I know it came out as a grimace.

"Hey, Ranger. How are you doing?" He did not smile at me; he just gazed at me steadily. What is the deal?

He stepped towards me until I could almost taste him and he put his hand on my cheek.

"I hope you will be happy, Babe." And then he left. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

I decided on a yellow sundress since the weather was so warm and matching tie up sandals that had tied up to the back of my knees. I grabbed my denim jacket and left my hair loose. I drove to the Wine and Spirits shop and got the wine and made it to my parent's house with ten minutes to spare.

My mother and my Gram were standing on the steps waiting for me. I noticed that my mother seemed all excited and she was wearing a fake smile. Gram was bouncing on her feet.

"Hey there, Stephie! Tonight is gonna be a pip!" This did not look good.

I walked into the house and sat at the table. Daddy was already there and he was not saying anything. No help there. A minute before six, there was knock on the door and my mother raced to answer it. Who was she running against?

She came back in with Joe Morelli, my on again and off again boyfriend. We were currently off ever since he told me that his girlfriend did not associate with thugs and hookers. I told him that I was not his girlfriend, so that did not apply to me. He was wearing a sharkskin suit and he looked like a freaking mob boss. Whatever.

My mother needed to mind her own business and stop trying to run my life. I was here for the pot roast and the cake.

Dinner was served and I ignored Morelli and my mother and I talked to Gram about the latest funeral she went to. She was getting to the good part. "I tell you, Stephie, I never seen a rug that fake and it flew right into the cookie tray!" I laughed with Gram and my mother cleared the table. She insisted that I stay seated. Whatever lady.

Morelli came around to my left side and grabbed my cake plate. I smacked his hand and aimed my fork at him. He chuckled nervously. "Listen, Cupcake, the reason that your mother invited you to dinner tonight was so that I could do this." He got to his knee and took my left hand. It is a good thing that I am right-handed, because I kept eating my cake.

"I want us to build a life together, Cupcake and I just got a raise, so you will not have to work that awful job anymore, or any job really. You can just focus on planning the wedding and after that, our children. So, will you marry me, Cupcake?"

I blacked out for a minute there and when I came to, I was strangling Morelli and my mother was screaming for me to stop that and say yes. Hell no! What kind of fucking proposal was that? He does not even love me and I sure as hell do not love him, nor do I trust him! I shoved Morelli to the floor and dusted myself off.

That was it. I was taking my wine home, too. She pulls crap like this instead of just being honest with me? The gloves are off lady. "How dare you try to force me to marry a second man I cannot stand, Mother?! I am leaving and I will not be back. I am also taking the wine with me!"

"Hot damn! I gotta tell the girls about this! I am so glad I got it on video." I ignore Gram, too. I cannot believe these people. As I drove towards my apartment, I fumed. Was this what Ranger was talking about earlier? I called him on speed dial.

"Yo, Babe."

"Yo, yourself. How could you possibly think that I would want to marry that asshole?"

"You mean you did not say yes?" Is he serious?

"No, Ranger. Now answer the question."

"Babe, you move in and out of his house and you always make up with him." I hate when he is right.

"Yes, Smartypants, but the last time was different. We are NOT getting back together." He sighs.

"Babe." I know that means how was last time different. I park at my apartment and stomp to the elevator.

"Ricardo Carlos Manoso, this time was different because Morelli told me that I could not be friends with you guys or Lula anymore. I told him to go fuck himself and I left. That was two months ago, dammit and you still think that I would take him back?"

"Babe." I open my door and notice that last Babe had an echo. I feel the tingle. I look around and finally find him in my room sitting on a chair in the corner of the room.

I hang up the phone. "What are you doing here if you thought I was getting engaged?" He smiles grimly.

"I was thinking that you would not be returning here tonight and I still wanted to be near you. Your room smells like you, Babe." Okay, he was acting weird again.

I flop down on the bed and open the wine I brought and drink right out of the bottle.

"Ranger, I would not marry a man that tried to run my life. I am all for compromise, but Morelli was not giving anything up. He just laid out some qualification for his wife and by the way, he does not want me to work. I don't love him or trust him. He does not love me, either. He does not even like the real me. If he did, he would not continue his vendetta to change me so much."

I drink again from the bottle and Ranger takes it from me.

"I am glad that you are not marrying him, Babe. I am also glad that you do not love him. Maybe one day you will think about marrying me. I love you, Babe." Wow. I pinched myself.

"Are you serious?" He sets down the bottle and joins me on the bed. He takes my hand and kissed it.

"I mean it, Babe, but maybe we can just start with will you go out with me on a real date? I would very much like to take you out and show you how you are supposed to be treated." I lean into him and sighed.

"Sure thing, Ranger." He kissed my forehead.

"I want you to call me Carlos, Babe. And thank you."

"For what?" He turned me to face him.

"For saying yes to me, Babe. I was nervous. I even drank some wine." I laughed at him. He was being so silly.

"Anytime, Carlos." And I meant that sincerely. This night started out as a disaster but it turned out great. I spent the rest of the night talking to Carlos until I fell asleep and it was the best night I had had in a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him. I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli:**

* * *

 **#3 When things went Boom**

I buried my face in my hands and tried to calm the pounding of my heart. This was a close one. I was almost to the car when I heard the whoosh of flames and I grabbed my bag and my FTA and we ran for it. We hid behind a car that was three cars away and watched my car explode.

Who would have thought that the FTAs girlfriend wanted to help him get away from me and that she threw a Molotov cocktail at my car? I was going to have words with that bitch when the police got done with her.

As soon as the initial explosion was over, I tackled her and handcuffed her to her boyfriend. They could go to jail together. That car was barely used! I had gotten a great deal from Al on it and it was blue. I know that Ranger told Al to give me a good deal, and I appreciated it, I really did.

Ranger cared about me. He was such a good friend. He was actually my best friend and now he was coming this way. Good. I need a hug really badly. I stood up on shaky legs and closed the last few steps between us and threw my arms around his neck and held on. He caught me of course and stroked my back. I could feel his heart beating fast, too.

I nuzzled my face into his neck. He smells so good all the time. I pulled him even closer and he tightened his hold on me. Everything else faded away. This was the best feeling. I feel so safe and cared for. We did not even need words.

Into every life some rain must fall and for me that meant it was a funsucker named Morelli. I could hear him bitching and for once, I did not care. I almost fucking died and if I hear his rant correctly, he is worried about receiving phone calls about me. I pulled away from Ranger.

"Hey, Batman, does it bother you to receive a call about me?" His eyes answer me and I could see that the answer was hell no.

Morelli was getting louder and now he was wondering what my mother would say. I looked at Ranger and he gave me the raised eyebrow and I shake my head. I do not care what my mother thinks. I almost died and this ass thinks that he can tell my mommy on me and what? I will die next time?

Ranger tightens his hold on me and I sighed. Morelli finally realizes that I am ignoring him and he steps closer and tries to yell at me again.

"Cupcake, I am talking to you! Do you think you could pay attention to me instead of making out with Manoso? I cannot believe you are cheating on me in front of all of these people! You are such an embarrassment!" I suck in a breath.

Ranger gives me a look and I back away. He punches Morelli in the face and he falls to the ground.

"Never talk to her that way again, Morelli. And before you try, you cannot arrest me for punching an immature, loud mouthed idiot that cannot even ask his supposed girlfriend if she is alright after she survived a car explosion. Some boyfriend you are." I put my hand on his chest to stop him and I turned to Morelli.

"You know what, Morelli? You are the one that is the embarrassment. What kind of cop are you that you did not find out the facts first before you started trying to berate a fucking witness to a crime? We are through for good this time." He was holding his face and turning purple. I do not care.

"I cannot stand the way you like to yell my business at the top of your lungs to whoever will listen. You are ridiculous and you are an insensitive asshole. I almost died and all you care about is that someone called you. Stay away from me from now on, Morelli. I want nothing more to do with you." I walked over to Eddie who was running the scene.

"Hey Steph. This was a close one. We got the statement from your FTA. He said that you saved his life." I know Morelli heard that. Ranger was behind me, stroking my back. I loved the way he touched me.

"Thank you, Eddie. Can I go? I need to get out of here." He smiled.

"Sure, Steph. We will send your receipt to Vinnie's. You can give your statement on Monday. I can come to your apartment if you want." Ranger cleared his throat.

"She will be at Rangeman, Officer." Well, that was news to me. I turned to him.

"Babe." It meant that I should just trust him and I did, so I smiled and nodded.

"Okay, then, Eddie. I will see you around." I let Ranger lead me to his car, past a still fuming Morelli. I relaxed into the seat as he drove.

We stopped at the market and Ranger told me to wait in the car, so I did. I think I am still in shock a little bit. When that fire caught and we ran, I think my life flashed in front of my eyes and it was not a pleasant movie to watch. It was time to do some editing and maybe get a new leading man. Ranger got back into the car and smiled at me as he handed over a bag.

"What's this?" I opened the bag to find Ben & Jerry's brownie batter ice cream. Oh my god, Ranger got me ice cream!

"I love you!" I lean over and kiss him and he returns the kiss.

"Babe, I am going to have to give you ice cream more often if this is the response I get." I smiled.

"Maybe you should, Batman." I dug into the ice cream as he drove us to Rangeman. I turned off my phone halfway there because my mother and Morelli kept calling me. Who needs to be nagged? Not me? I have my ice cream and my Batman.

"Am I yours, Babe?" What now? Was I doing that talking out loud thing again?

It was now or never. Suck it up, Stephanie. I looked at him and smiled. "Yes, you are mine, Batman." He grinned at me and pushed a lock of hair behind my ear.

"Good, because I love you, too." I smiled all the way to his apartment until he took my ice cream away. He soon replaced the chocolatey goodness with Batmany goodness. What girl would complain about a thing like that? Not me. Never me.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him. I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli:**

* * *

 **#4 After She was the Last to Know**

 **Stephanie POV**

"Girl you are gonna knock that man's socks off in that little black dress!" I was shopping with Lula and for once I had finally taken her advice. We were at a boutique that she said had dresses for all sizes, even her bodacious body and she was right.

This dress was strapless and had a tight corset bodice and a hem that came to just above my knees. It was almost backless. Oh, calm down, I have a little coat that I will wear with it. It is silver and shimmery. I had my hair done at Mr. Alexander's and we had found the perfect silver silver sparkly 6" sandals that looked like princess shoes.

What is the occasion you ask? It was the Annual Law Enforcement Ball this weekend. On Monday, I had asked Joe what we should do this weekend and Joe had casually mentioned that he was going to an event Saturday night. Then I had received an invitation to the event with a rose. When I asked Joe about it, he denied it and hung up on me. He was being so nonchalant about it.

When I told Lula, she said maybe he was too busy to get excited about it and that all of the men usually wore the same black suits so how could they get hyped about it. Then she grabbed me and instead of looking for Petey Newcomb, a shoplifting FTA, we were dress shopping. It had taken us three days to find this dress.

"Thanks, Lu. I like this dress, too. Thank you for talking me into this." She shakes her head at me.

"Girl, please. You are my girl! I had to make sure you would be lookin tight for the ball on some fairy godmother shit. Now go home and relax tonight. Tomorrow, eat small meals and do that facial I told you about with the oatmeal and the honey. It will look crazy, but you will have a glow and be delicious at the same time." I laughed and hugged her.

On my way to drop her off, we saw Petey and Lu took off running and tackled him and when I caught up to them, she was sitting on him and he was begging her to get off of him. I let her keep the capture money since I had picked up all of my other FTAs this week.

I went home feeling good. It was strange that I had received another rose with the message, "I can't wait to see you." I smiled. Joe was finally treating me with romance. Maybe my mother was right. It would excuse the fact that we had not even had pizza in a month and he had been undercover for a month before that. Whatever. My dress fits me better because of it.

At 7pm on the day of the ball, I was dressed and ready. My hair had even behaved. It was a Cinderella miracle. Lula had called me and asked if I was okay and I said yes. She said that she would come over with some oreos and vodka and I had laughed her off the phone. She was so silly. Mary Lou even called and asked me if I wanted her to get a sitter and some tee pee. I said no thank you. What was with my friends? There was a knock on the door and I rushed to answer it.

I opened the door to a wet dream. Why was Ranger standing outside my door with a silver rose and wearing a yummy black Armani suit with a silver and black vest? I was literally struck dumb.

"You look so pretty, Babe. Are you ready?" Say what now? I stepped back to let him inside and he came in and closed the door. He grabbed my wrap and helped me into it.

"Ranger, what is going on?" He smiled at me and kissed me gently.

"Babe, I sent you an invitation and roses. I was hoping that you would be my date. Tank said that Lula told him you went dress shopping. She would not describe the dress, though. You really look amazing."

I was still so confused. I looked at my watch and it was now 7:15pm. Where was Joe?

Ranger looked blank faced suddenly. "Stephanie, Morelli is taking Miranda Wilkes to the ball. I thought you knew that. They have been seeing each other for almost three months now." What?!

Has it been that long since I have really seen Joe? The last time we even hung out was to have pizza and beer to watch a game and then instead of inviting me upstairs, he told me he had to get up early and I left. Had he really been dating someone else and never told me? That creep!

All of this time, I have been going around thinking he was busy and undercover I even made his excuses to my mother! I felt something give way and I think it was my denial. With that gone, I realized that I am officially over Joseph Morelli. Who needs a man that did not even break up with me before he started seeing someone else. All this time!

"Babe, you are growling. Calm down. I really thought you knew. If you are not feeling up to attending this event, we can go and have dinner somewhere else. You do not deserve to be treated like he treated you, Steph. Let me show you how a real man treats a woman he loves." Whew! I looked around, but I was still in my living room and not heaven. Did Ranger just say he loves me?

I lock eyes with him and he is still smiling. I smile back at him. This was so great! My phone rang and the answering machine gets it. "Stephanie, this is your mother. I hope that you are happy! Joseph is seeing another woman and now he will probably marry her. He was your last chance, Stephanie. You will be a spinster with a house full of cats! This is all your fault! I told you to learn to cook!" The machine cuts her off. Wow. She has no faith in me, but that is a neurosis for another day.

Ranger took my hand. "Babe, are you okay?" I grinned at him and kissed him gently.

"Yes, Ranger, I am okay and I want to go to the ball with you. I am so glad that you asked me to go. This dress deserves to be gawked at and I really want to dance with you."

"Will you wear this necklace? Lula did say that the dress was black."

He handed me a silver sparkly necklace that probably had diamonds on it. I was staring at the wonder woman symbol that would fit nicely into my cleavage. He helped me to put it on and I kissed his cheek. I loved this man. He was perfect! Ranger smiled and escorted me to the waiting limousine. Wow again.

At the ball, Ranger took off my little coat and we entered the event. The hotel ballroom looked amazing and we stopped to have our pictures taken. We were mingling with guys Ranger knew from the DEA when Morelli walked up to us with his date. She was wearing a fire engine red dress that had a split from her thigh to the floor. Her hair was up and her dress was also strapless. She needed straps, though, because she was one sneeze away from setting the girls free.

Ranger had an arm around me caressing my back and I was leaning into him. We turned from our conversation to greet Morelli and his date, Mary? Mira? What was her name again?

"Hello, Cupcake. This is my fiancé, Miranda Wilkes. Miranda, this is Stephanie Plum." No he did not still call me Cupcake!

"Hello, Joseph. This is my boyfriend, Carlos Manoso. Carlos, you remember Joseph Morelli. You helped me to clear his name when he was wanted for murder a few years back." Heh heh. Take that!

Ranger kissed my cheek and shook hands with Morelli for show and he smiled at… Marsha?...and she went into a daze. I know how you feel, sister. Morelli started turning colors.

"I did not expect you to attend this event, Cupcake. It is for real Law Enforcement personnel." Wow. He is catty like a woman. Why was I ever with someone like him? Ranger took that moment to run his thumb across my back and I shivered and leaned into him further.

"Carlos, behave!" He kissed my mouth gently. Time to wrap this up so we can get a drink because Batman packs a punch, ladies.

I turned my attention back to Morelli who was not pleased at our interaction. "You know that I have a 93% capture rate for my FTAs, Morelli. I have helped you close quite a few cases. Anyway, Carlos is my date, so between the two of us, it was a given that I would be here. You have a nice night and congratulations to you and Maria on your engagement. You must have left your ring at home to be safe, huh? Well, that is silly with all of the cops here tonight. Enjoy your evening. I know I will."

And with that, I let Ranger, no Carlos lead me to our table. As he seated me, I saw that Morelli was roughly pulling his little fiancé across the room. Poor Marianne. That could have been me. What the hell was I thinking?


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him. I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli:**

* * *

 **#5 After Meeting Joey Jr.**

 **Stephanie POV**

I was doing a stakeout in the park to find Jasper Green who was a flasher. I was alone on my stakeout because I had refused help from Ranger and the guys. They offered to wait with me and to take the creepy fucker to jail for me, but I had stubbornly refused.

I am 28 years old. I should be able to handle a skinny 60 year old man in a raincoat. I had just finished my tastycake when a lady sat down next to me. She was holding a cute little baby in her arms. The kid had to be about 9 months old because he was sitting up by himself and he had a couple of teeth. He was chewing on a baby cookie.

"Are you Stephanie Plum?" What was the deal?

"Yes. Do I know you?" She smiled and she was cute in a next door neighbor type of way. I was not even mad at her for being blonde and younger than me.

"No, you don't know me, but I know about you. You are dating Joe Morelli." I nodded. Today I was. Last week, not so much.

"My name is Rita Fonicello. I met Joe Morelli two years ago when he was undercover. We dated for a few months and when his undercover assignment was over, he left. It has taken me this long to track him down. I thought I meant something to Joe, but I guess he met you and forgot about me."

I looked around. Was I being punked? Two years ago. I remember that assignment. Joe had missed my birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Valentine's Day. He had come back at the end of February just in time to stop me from going to St. Patrick's Day with the guys from Rangeman. He had insisted that we spend a holiday together. At the time, I thought it was romantic, but now I think the rat bastard was just trying to have his cake and eat it, too.

I waited for him and I refused all of Ranger's offers for dinners and dancing and to spend the holidays with his family. I spent all of those holidays with my family or alone and that asshole was having a whole other relationship and he never mentioned it to me? Of course he didn't. He just kept accusing me of cheating on him with Ranger.

"Listen, Stephanie. I just met Joe's mother and she is thrilled to have Joey Jr. as a part of the family. I am not trying to ruin your relationship, but I just wanted you to know that he exists. I am moving to Trenton so that Joey can have his father around. Please understand that I am not attempting to steal your boyfriend."

Jasper walked by us and I absently stunned him. I handcuffed him and left him on the ground. I turned to Rita.

"Rita, you are doing the right thing. I admire that you have been raising your son alone all of this time. He is a cutie pie. Take care and when you see Joe, you tell him I said congratulations."

She nodded at me and I picked up Jasper and left. Who does something like that? Not only did he cheat on me, he did not use protection. I am so glad that I always insist on his using condoms even though I secretly get the birth control shots.

Jasper gets bonded out without a problem and I see Eddie waiting for me. I walk up to him and he gives me a sympathetic smile. This is ridiculous.

"Eddie, how are you?" He hugs me with one arm.

"I should be asking you that question, Steph. I heard about the baby. Wow." I just shook my head. I need a fucking vacation.

"Eddie, I just heard about it myself. I am okay, really. Whoever sent Rita to talk to me has my thanks."

I had a sneaking suspicion of who sent her, too and I owed him a kiss. I left and went to my apartment to pack. I was going to Point Pleasant for a long weekend. I deserved it. I suddenly felt free. I cannot believe that all that time I had been faithful and that cheating whore was a deadbeat dad. There was a knock on the door and I looked through the peephole. Speak of the creep and here he is.

I opened the door, but kept the chain on. "What do you want, Morelli?" He smiled at me, but it looked like a grimace.

"Cupcake why aren't you letting me in? We have plans." Is he serious? I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Morelli, you need to be spending time with your son. I cannot believe you cheated on me while constantly accusing me of cheating on you. Go away, Morelli. I have things to do." He looked shocked that I knew. The stupid fucker. If the woman had not interrupted my stakeout earlier, then the Grapevine would have certainly done its job.

"Cupcake, you cannot believe Rita. It has been almost two years since I met her! That could be anybody's kid!" So he does not deny sleeping with her; he is just being a deadbeat.

"Morelli, even if that was not your kid, you cheated on me for months. I cannot stay with you knowing that you basically made a fool of me. You are not the man I thought you were. Anyway, have a nice life. You can finally have the life you always wanted. That is a cute kid. You had better take care of him, or are you no better than your father?" He pales. Good. I slam the door shut and go back to packing.

Another knock on the door stops me again and I walk over and look out the peephole. I open the door to a grey tee shirt wearing jeans clad Ranger. "Who are you supposed to be?" He grins at me and holds out a champagne glass. I take it and he brings the bottle from behind his back and pours me a glass. He does the same for himself and drinks it.

"Why are we drinking champagne, Ranger?" He smiles at me and sets his glass down.

"We are drinking to celebrate you finally letting Morelli go. I was watching from down the hall, Babe. Where are you going?" He was watching from down the hall?

"Wait a minute, Mr. What do you mean that you were watching from down the hall?" He continues to grin.

"I was coming to invite you over for the weekend. The guys and I just got a huge account, but then I witnessed you finally kicking Morelli to the curb and I had a whole new reason to celebrate." He sure is talking a lot.

"Are you drunk, Ranger?" He shakes his head.

"Nope. I am just happy. I knew Morelli was cheating on you, but I could not tell you because you would not believe me, or you would let him talk you into forgiving him or something. I mean look at what you put up with from him. The guy treated you like crap and you kept going back." Wow, was I that bad?

"I was starting to lose hope, Babe and then I found out about Rita and Joey Jr. I am the one who sent her a letter telling her where Morelli's mother lived and another one telling her where you would be today. Are you mad?" He looked at me patiently.

I should be mad, but he is right. I was so determined not to have another failed relationship and I listened to my mother's rants until I was almost brainwashed into believing that it was my responsibility to make the relationship work. Wow. I let them do a number on me. I look at Ranger who is a little drunk, since he is staring at his hands and making shadow puppets on the wall. I smile and lean over and kiss him gently.

"Thank you, Ranger. This was just the wakeup call I needed. I am going to Point Pleasant, but I can come over to the building to hang with you guys for a while." He jumped up and grabbed me and bent me over into a deep kiss. It was over and I was back in my bedroom before I snapped out of my daze. Ranger was packing my clothes faster.

"What are you doing? I am finished packing, Ranger." He kept folding.

"I am packing more clothes, Babe. We need longer than a weekend together." I giggled and let him carry the bags. I carried the champagne. Outside, Lester was standing up through the sunroof of a limo and he was throwing tomatoes at Morelli, who was yelling at him and waving his arms. They were so silly.

I got into the limo with Ranger and we convinced Lester to sit down and to pull up his pants because he could not moon Morelli unless he was upside down. These guys were my real friends. They had my back even when I was almost turned into a Burg wife wannabe.

It's not like I would not have dated a guy with a kid, but Joe never told me about the relationship. He hid it from me and as soon as he found out about his kid, he denied it. Nope I do not need that kind of man in my life. I leaned back in the seat and smiled. Instead of sad, I feel kind of glad. That little baby may be the best thing that happened to me.


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him. I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli:**

* * *

 **#6 Flag on the Play**

 **Stephanie POV**

Just as I had been doing for the past week, I had gotten up at 5 freaking AM before the sun even came up and donned my Rangeman outfit that Ella embroidered on and I left Joe's house to be on time for my gym time. I even left a note by the coffee machine. I can be domestic.

Ranger is lucky that he is my best friend because I worked out even though his treadmills are clearly faulty. I ran more than 5 miles. I lost part of my ovaries on the elliptical machine, too!

After that torture and my time in the gym, I showered using Ranger's bathroom. It was sadly bereft of Ranger, except for his shower gel that I used. So sue me, I love his smell! My reward for all of that sweating was a Belgium waffle with strawberries and blueberries on top and honey. Per Ella, it was all she was authorized to serve me.

I ate it with relish anyway while thinking up revenge plans for my dear pal Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Maybe I would change all of his sweetner packets to real sugar. Maybe I would stun him and handcuff him to a chair and force feed him donuts from the Tasty Pastry. Mmmm, Ranger and Boston Cremes!

I was getting off topic. I had to sit through the morning meeting and then I was ordered by my boss to go to the gun range. He assured me that I was being treated just like all of the other guys as I had stipulated.

"No special treatment, Babe," he had said. I think that this was special treatment. It was specially made up just for me! I then spent the rest of the day wading through search requests and background checks.

When I find out who Rodriguez is, I am going to give him an atomic wedgie! That man must have no life. When does he even drop off these requests? I only went to the restroom and to the break room twice! He must be a ninja, but Hal and Manny would not let me review the camera footage from earlier. They said that request had to go through the Grand Poobah.

Fine, I was maybe a little cranky because even though I have been living with Joe, between his schedule and mine with stakeouts and distractions and doing my captures, it has been about a month since anything besides sleep has happened to me in that bed.

The forced no contraband rule was playing havoc with my hormones! I need a tastycake or a cookie or something? The guys are starting to look delicious and the whole time Lester was asking me about a background report I did for him, I wanted to lick him.

Ranger had come by at that precise moment and told me that lunch for me was being served in his apartment immediately. Lester had run at the look he got from Ranger. That was not exactly fair. It was my fault that time. This past month has been rough on me.

I spent lunch trying to explain my jelly donut hormones to Ranger and he just nodded patiently and gave me a grapefruit smoothie. I almost threw it at him, but I did not want to ruin his wonderful grey suit. Armani Ranger is so drop dead gorgeous.

He patiently escorted me back to my desk and thanked me again for working for him and told me that quitting time was at 3pm for me and do not forget to see Ella for the rest of my uniforms. I smiled at him. He was so pretty.

Yes, I finally bit the bullet and took Ranger's job offer. I now have benefits and a company car, not to mention a better salary. I refused the apartment, though. I still have mine and for the past month or so, I have been staying at Morelli's house. I know that Ranger wants to tell me 'I told you so' about me working here, but besides a few smug glances, he has been quiet.

I went to see Ella after I spent a half hour hiding around the corner from my cubicle hoping to catch Rodriguez, and he did not show up. The ninja fucker! Fine, I will calm down. I am just feeling the burn hormonally. Ella gave me garment bags and duffle bags. I tried to refuse them, but she said that Ranger told her to remind me that I signed a contract. Fine.

I took clothes for tomorrow and left the rest with her. There was no way I wanted to have an argument about Ranger so called 'buying me' with Joe tonight. I left and waved to the guys and went to the market. I was on a roll. I found the ready-made salads and I bought steamed shrimp to go on top, I got frozen vegetable lasagna, and I got oatmeal muffins and green tea. Ella would be so proud of me!

I went back to Morelli's house and changed into jeans and a stretchy tee shirt and put the lasagna into the oven and I put the salad together and I heated the muffins. Who needs to spend hours in the kitchen when you could get all of this stuff at the market! Go me!

I waited until 6:30pm to eat. Hey, you snooze, you lose. Morelli should have called I was just about to clean up the kitchen and put away the leftovers when the door opened and Morelli came in with Gina Lubecci wrapped around him. What. The. Hell?

I watched from the kitchen doorway as they made out and fell onto the couch after slamming the front door. I walked to the front door and opened it. Someone walked by, so I waved and they waved back. So I am not a ghost and I am not invisible.

I returned to the horny toads on the sofa and watched them for a few minutes dispassionately. I cannot understand what is happening right now. I go upstairs and grab my basket and my duffle bag and my things from the bathroom and then I go into the kitchen and grab my leftovers and I take it out to my car.

I still have my gun in my waist, so I take it out and chamber a round. This breaks up the lovefest on the sofa. Gina sees the guns and screams and tries to leave. I wave the gun at her and she sits away from Joe. Joe looks pissed, but so what. I AM pissed. How dare he do this to me! How dare he do this to HER in front of me or at all!

"Hello, Morelli. Would you like to explain to me why you are making out with Gina here while I still live with you? As far as I know, we did not break up. Well, we will be now, and for good because it suddenly hit me that I deserve better, but I would just LOVE to hear your reasoning for being such a douche."

I say this calmly and in a quiet voice like Ranger uses when Lester uses silly string at work.

Joe looks at me like I am a five year old and he cannot understand why I cannot get it.

"Look Cupcake, not only haven't you been seeing to my needs lately, you have started working for that criminal Manoso and his band of thugs. No girlfriend of mine is going to associate with them, let alone work there, so that means that you did not want to be my girlfriend anymore and I called Gina and we decided to have a night in."

He leaned back on the sofa. Gina had been nodding along with him. I assume a rigid posture and keep my gun aimed at him. He just pissed me off.

"You are a stupid, short sighted, bigoted, asshole, Joseph Anthony Morelli. You broke up with me without telling me, mind you, because I have a better paying and safer job? You are a dickhead. You just want to use any excuse you can to justify your actions."

I wave the gun around just for fun. I will not shoot the scumball even though he deserves it.

"The real reason you are mad about my job is that I will be making more money than you and that I will be driving a better car." I walk closer to him and change my aim to his groin. He recoils and sinks back into the couch.

"It must really stick in your chauvinistic craw that I do not need you, huh? Well, congratulations, Morelli. You get your wish and we are through, but this time, it is for good. No more calling me and saying that your boys miss me or trying to get my mother to force me to have dinner with you."

I look him up and down and sneer at him.

"By the way, Joe. It is not my fault that you have not had your 'needs' met for the past month. Since I moved in here a month ago, you have been unable to perform. All you have been good for is stealing the covers."

I smile at his slowly purpling complexion.

I nod at Gina. "Gina, good luck to you. This man does not cook or clean up after himself. His mother does his laundry. He will not take you out on dates. He does not call when he is going to be late and now we can add on two more things to the list."

I smile a devious smile at Morelli and lean over to Gina like I am telling her a secret.

"He cannot handle a woman making more money than him, so I hope that as a nurse you take that into consideration."

She looks at Joe a little closer. Heh heh. The truth hurts.

"Lastly, the limp dicked creep will break up with you without fucking telling you! You can have him. I am done."

I shot the area in between Morelli's legs and he screamed and wet himself. Please, I am a good shot and it went into the couch! Whatever.

"Think about that before you try to call me again, Morelli."

With that, I put the safety back on my gun and I leave and drive back to Rangeman. I think I will take that apartment after all.

 **A/N:** Like it?


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him. I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli:**

* * *

 **#7 All in the Family**

"Babe, why don't you come over for dinner? This was a tough week for you even though you got all of your captures. I can help you to relax."

I smile at Ranger as we talk next to his car in the police station parking lot. He is such a good friend. I do not deserve him. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed.

"Thank you very much for the offer, but I am headed to Morelli's. We are going to watch the game and veg out. It has been a long week and this heat has not helped. I will talk to you tomorrow, Ranger."

He smiled a little smile and kissed my forehead and got into his car. I watched him drive away wondering if I should have taken his offer. No, Stephanie. You are in an on phase with Morelli and you know what will happen if you let Ranger help you to relax. Boy do I ever know!

I get into my POS car that has no freaking air conditioning and take my receipts to Connie. She gives me my check with minimal fuss because I glare at her. My hair has wilted and my tee shirt is clinging to me. I know I look a hot mess.

At least I am wearing cargo capris. God bless Ella. I stop at the bank and deposit my check and look at my balance. It was too high. I had written a check for my rent. What is going on? I drove over to talk to Dillon and he smiles and hugs me a little.

"Hey, Steph! It is good to see you. Here is your storage key. I figured you would want the furniture donated to the Salvation Army. Here is your receipt from that."

What was he babbling about? I know that I have barely been here for the past two months, but he packed up my apartment?

"Dillon, why did you pack up my apartment?" He looks suddenly scared.

"Um, well, I am not supposed to say, exactly, but your boyfriend came and talked to me and said that you had moved in with him and then he paid me to pack up your things and place them into storage. He said it was a surprise and that you might not even notice. It has been three weeks, Steph."

I saw red. That sneaky fucker! Every time I have been ready to leave lately, he has come up with excuses:

 _It was too late at night._

 _I was already comfortable._

 _His house was closer to the bonds office._

 _I promised to housesit while he was undercover._

 _He would get me hot wings and ice cream._

Dammit! He even promised not to complain about me working with Ranger on distractions. I would not be manipulated! I took the storage unit key and the receipt from the Salvation Army and put them into my purse.

When I got to Morelli's house, I started packing. I was homeless, but that was besides the point. He promised not to pressure me and by doing this he thinks that I am not going to leave. I can get a hotel room. He is crazy. I loaded my things into the car and went back for my bathroom items and my cookie jar.

I left Rex on the counter because it was hot in the car. I got a text message and it said: "Do you need help, Babe?" Does he have cameras here?

I look around and another text pops up: "Manny saw you loading up your car, Babe." Does he make them patrol here? I sigh and text him no thank you and sit and wait for Morelli to come home.

He is not the next person in the door. That prize goes to his mother. I had successfully avoided that woman for more than a month and now here she is. This is not my day. Why does she have two casseroles?

"Hello, Stephanie. I brought stuffed shells and lasagna. Carmen is bringing the iced tea and the rolls. You have time if you want to take a shower and maybe run a comb through your hair." What now?

"Time for what, Mrs. Morelli?" She smiles at me.

"The family dinner, Stephanie. Joey invited all of us over tonight. He said that you have an announcement to make."

She stares meaningfully at my abdomen. Oh hell no. I decide to wait for Morelli on the porch. I take Rex outside with me and I sit there with my pocketbook. Where is my car? Have I been robbed?

I get another text: "Babe, we took your car. People are saying that you are pregnant. Do you want to confirm or deny that for me, Babe?" I hold in a scream.

I text him that I am not the Virgin Mary. We have not had sex since I moved in here. Morelli claimed it was because he did not want our relationship to be about sex, but I am not stupid. He was trying to make me want sex so badly that I would agree to anything to get it.

I am a woman. We invented that trick. Besides, I have barely seen him lately. He was undercover for two weeks and then I have been busy and when he made a move, it just did not feel right and I had said that I had a headache.

Ranger texts me back: "Good to know."

Now I am stranded here with most of the Burg thinking that I am pregnant with Morelli's love child and he made Dillon cancel my lease and his family is coming over and I just want a freaking shower and to relax!

I can feel more sweat pouring down my back. I am starting to hate Joseph Morelli. I ignore the parade of family members that goes into the house. Angie Morelli must have said something because they leave me alone.

Finally, Joe shows up. He is literally bouncing on his feet with glee as he sees his mother's car and his sister's car. He stops short when he sees me.

"Cupcake, why are you out here? You should take a shower. We have important news to tell the family."

I would love to take a shower and relax but the house has turned into grand central station. I glare at him.

"Just what important news is that, Morelli? Your mother thinks I am pregnant! You KNOW that is impossible and besides I use birth control. If you got somebody pregnant, it is not me!" He shushes me.

"Look, Cupcake, you will be pregnant soon anyway. I am not using condoms with you anymore because we are getting married and I want to have a family."

What did this fool just decree to me?

"How are we getting married, Morelli? I did not agree to marry you." He just waves that off.

"You have been living here for more than a month and that is the longest time you have stayed. We have not had any fights in that time and I even kept quiet about you working with Manoso for the past two weeks."

He is an idiot.

"Morelli, the reason that we have not argued is because we are rarely here at the same time and I found out that while you were doing your perfect boyfriend routine, you were moving me out of my apartment! How could you do that to me?! You did not even ask me!" He starts getting mad.

"This is the thanks I get when I do something nice to surprise you, Cupcake?!" I stand up and poke him in the chest.

"This was not something nice! Something nice would have been to actually let me relax today like I told you I wanted to! You invited your whole family over here and their kids and I just wanted some peace and quiet! I am not marrying you or having kids with you, you crazy dumbass!"

"What am I not good enough for you? My family is not good enough for you? This is what your life with me is going to be like, Cupcake. I make the decisions because this is my house. Why would you live somewhere else? You can make some decorating changes, but I have provided a good home for you. Do not be ungrateful."

I look at the sidewalk and see that we have drawn quite a crowd.

"Listen, Morelli. We have not even seen much of each other in the past month and a half. You know that we have not been together during that time. I was paying my own rent and you said that you did not want me to also pay you rent while I stayed here. I am not ungrateful! I have paid for the food this whole time!"

I get up in his face.

"It was supposed to be a test of our relationship, but I see that you just went behind my back and made all of these decisions for me. I am not marrying you, Morelli. This is not the life I want. We are through."

He sputters and yells while I walk away from his house. I have to leave or I will shoot him. Is this what I get for trying to be in a mature relationship? I did not lie to him. I told him that I am not ready for marriage and that kids scare the bejesus out of me. I can barely take care of Rex. Rex! I must have walked three blocks by now. I turn back to get him and run into Ranger.

"Hey Babe. You look a little frazzled. I have the rat in the car. Do you want a ride?"

More than anything, Batman, I think. Out loud I say, "What are you a superhero stalker?" He smiles and guides me to his car which is across the street. How did I not notice him?

"Babe, I was there for your speech to Morelli. I grabbed the rat when you walked off without him. Some mother you are." He smiles when I try to punch him. I sigh.

"That is my point, Ranger. I do not want to be pressured into being a mother or any of that. Instead of being proud of me for doing better with my takedowns, Morelli was just faking it and he had me moved out of my apartment!" Ranger hands me a cold bottle of water and I drink it. Wow. I was really thirsty.

"I am proud of you, Babe." Just hearing those words from him make me feel better.

"Babe, there is an open apartment on four that you can have. I am sure that Ella is unpacking for you right now. Stop worrying and take a shower and relax. If you are good, I will let Ella bake you a cake."

"Thank you, Ranger." He really is the best friend ever.

"What are friends for, Babe?" See what I mean?

I smile at him and lean back into the seat. I may not have a boyfriend or a fiancé or a kid on the way, but I have something better. I have a best friend and he is worth his weight in gold. I wonder if he still wants to help me to relax. My shower massager is on the fritz. He looks over at me and licks his lips and winks. Holy ruined panties, Batman!


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him. I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli:**

* * *

 **#8 What's the deal?**

It had to be only about 4am, but I was already awake. I had just experienced nirvana last night and I did not want it to end. I sighed and continued to stare at Ranger's beautiful face. Many people would scoff at me for calling Ranger beautiful and none of them would be a woman. This man was gorgeous from head to toe.

We had spent most of the night exploring each other and I may have had a couple of my boundaries stretched or bent or what have you. It was amazing how he knew my body—how he knew me.

He knew when I wanted it to be gentle and sweet and when I wanted him to, um well maybe there had been some spanking involved and a slight question and answer session where I do not believe any of my hearing impaired neighbors would have needed their hearing aids. They all know that Ranger has been here all night.

I should feel scandalized, but all I feel is possessive. We have a connection, Ranger and I, and I am not going to give him up without a fight. I know that we agreed to just one night in our deal, but I am playing for keeps. Maybe I could use my handcuffs and make him say yes to me.

He shifted and moved suddenly pulling me under him and caging me between his arms. "Babe, you are thinking too loud. Did I not make you sleepy enough?" I blushed and smiled at him.

"Sorry, Ranger." He gave me the raised eyebrow. I shivered. He had told me to call him Carlos last night and he had reinforced that request quite thoroughly. I cleared my throat.

"I mean, Carlos."

My voice sounded raspy from screaming. Wow. My whole body was his playground, and I want to set up some more playdates ASAP. But, not just that, I want him. He had no blank face last night and I loved seeing the emotions playing across his face.

"Why can't I use the handcuffs?" He grinned at me.

"That is too much of a commitment, Babe. I would only let my woman use handcuffs on me. Come here." He was so infuriating and so sexy. Fine, no handcuffs.

He bit my neck and I moaned and one of us attacked. We spent the next few hours getting me properly tired and when I opened my eyes, he was getting dressed and the sun was shining. What was going on? I sat up and stared at him in confusion.

"Babe, I have to go." What? No!

"Don't be silly. You can stay as long as you want, Carlos." He leaned over and kissed me and nuzzled my neck.

"Stephanie, you have a boyfriend that I know you are going to make up with soon. We had our night. It is time to face reality again."

Damn that was blunt. But, who said I was going to make up with Morelli?

"You always make up with him, Stephanie." I must have said that out loud.

"No, you did not say it out loud, but you had an indignant expression on your face. You are easy to read, Stephanie."

Why is he calling me Stephanie?

"What's with the first name stuff, Carlos?" He kissed me gently.

"I want you to know that I am serious. I know you. You want me, but only temporarily. You keep going back to Morelli for a reason. Whatever that reason is, it is between the two of you. We made a deal. We had guilt-free sex and now that is over. It is time that I go, Stephanie."

Is that true? I know I keep going back to Morelli, but I don't know the reason.

"You don't want a relationship, anyway, right, Ranger?" He flinched at my tone.

He looked at me with a sad expression on his face.

"We already have a relationship, Stephanie. You are the one that always gets to define it. You push and pull me and I let you because I care about you. If this is all that we can have, then I am glad that it happened. We can go back to being just friends."

Well, now I feel horrible. "You really think that I am the one doing the pushing and pulling, Ranger?" He just shakes his head and leaves the bedroom.

"I don't want to fight with you, Stephanie. We both know that as soon as Morelli calls you and offers you pizza of all things, you will welcome him back into your life no matter how poorly he treats you."

I feel like he has punched me in the gut. "What about you, Ranger?" He sighs and sets down his duffle bag.

"I treat you with respect, Stephanie. Yes, I steal kisses, but it takes two. I do not laugh at you. I do not yell at you in public. I do not call your mother to complain about you. I do not bet on your cars exploding, I always answer your calls and I do not lie to you." He gently kissed my lips and backed away towards the door.

"I also do not break up with you just so that I can spend time with another woman. You know who does all of those things? The guy you will be back together with by the end of the week."

He stares at me for a few more seconds.

"Why shouldn't I leave? You don't really want what I am offering. My life is dangerous sometimes and things would have to be a certain way because of safety. I told you that. Never mind. Have a nice day, Stephanie."

I watched him leave and I do not know how long I stood there with a sheet wrapped around me in the middle of my living room. I could not get his words out of my head. I woke up feeling pretty great and now all I feel is pretty stupid. Morelli did all of those things and I accepted it.

Ranger is not the only one who noticed it, either. My mother had just waved it off when I said that we were breaking up. So had Connie and Lula. Everyone knew that I would roll over and take Joe back whenever he decided he wanted me again. I would break us up and he would initiate the "making up." Always with a pizza, and never with an apology.

The same things always broke us up. He hated my job and my friends and he wanted me to get a safe boring job and move in with him and his mother wanted us to get married. So did my mother. What about what I wanted?

I took a shower and dressed in jeans and a tee shirt and cleaned my apartment. It needed it. I had some decisions to make. No, I really only had one decision to make. Ranger said he had never lied to me and earlier he mentioned that Joe broke up with me when he wanted to spend time with someone else. He started a fight so I would break up with him and storm off. This way, I looked like the irrational one. And he had my mother running interference. I have been played. I have been played many times by a master manipulator. Well, not anymore. This stops now.

I spent a week avoiding both Ranger and Joe and thinking about what I really wanted. I wanted honesty. Face it, if you will lie, then it is not such a stretch to think that you will cheat.

Morelli cornered me at the bonds office. I had been sitting there talking to Lula and he walked in. Lula got a maniacal grin on her face at having a front row seat to some gossip and Connie kept filing her nails. Joe walked right up to me and smiled at me like I was what he had sorely missed.

"Hello, Cupcake. So, I was thinking of coming by tonight and bringing a couple of pizzas and we can watch the game and spend some time making up. What time should I come over?"

Wow. Ranger was right. Joe was doing this publicly, too. Is my whole life a freaking soap opera? I looked up at him from my magazine.

"Sorry, Joe. I am not interested." He just kept on talking.

"I will be there at about 7pm. Wear something pretty." This was kind of disgusting to watch with my rose colored glasses off.

"I said no, Morelli. You can have pizza with someone else." He glared at me. I guess he does not like the word no.

"Girlfriend, he wants to make up with you. I know you know what that means." I shake my head at Lula. How dare she take his side?

"Why not, Cupcake?!" Oh, he got loud on me. Is that supposed to intimidate me? I stand up and lean against Connie's desk.

"Morelli, are you sorry that you said that I should stop hanging with hookers, thugs and criminals?" He looks around to see that at least 4 of the guys from Rangeman had arrived, not to mention Lula. And she was on his side.

"What about my job, are you still upset that I work for my weasel of a cousin that only hired me as a favor because I have no skills with FTAs?" Vinnie comes out of his office. Well, he came to the doorway and he was waiting for the answer to that question, too.

"Do you still want me to stop being friends with the guys from Rangeman and quit my job and learn to cook?" He opens his mouth and closes it again.

"Well, are you sorry that you said any of those things? If not, then there is not a need for you to bring pizza to me, because there is not going to be any 'making up'."

This is all that Joe can take and he blows his top, loudly.

"Cupcake, you know that you will make up with me and it does not matter what I said before. You always forgive me anyway, so stop putting on a show for your little friends. I said I will be there at 7pm." Wow. I look around and no one is smiling at Morelli.

"Okay, Joe. You can go to my apartment at 7pm, but I will not be there. Have fun eating alone. It just seems to me that you would continue to spend time with Terri Gilman. I hear that she was even invited to dinner at your mother's house. What's wrong? Trouble in paradise?"

"What do you mean you won't be there? You live there! And so what Terri came to dinner at Ma's. She is my friend just like Manoso is your friend." I nod and smile at him.

"Then congratulations. Ranger is the best friend I ever had. He tells me the truth and he does not lie to me. It must be great to have a friend like that. I won't be home, Morelli, because I am a grownup and I can do what I want." I hand Lula the magazine and pick up my purse.

"See you, Morelli." He grabs my arm as I walk past him.

"I won't ask you again, Cupcake." I smiled at him and wrenched my arm away.

"Good. I thought that maybe you could not take a hint. Have a nice day, Joe."

That felt good. Joe stormed out of the office and the guys magically disappeared. Vinnie nodded at me and Lula gave me an apologetic look. I guess she realized that Joe spoke ill of her.

I left and drove towards Point Pleasant. My phone rang, and it was not my mother, so I answered it on speaker.

"Yo." He laughed.

"Babe, that's my line. Where are you going?" I smiled. I know that he is tracking me.

"You know where I am going, Ranger. What's up?" I hope the guys told him what happened.

"Nice showdown earlier, Babe." I smile. They did tell him.

"Thank you, Ranger."

"I want to make another deal with you."

I almost swerve out of my lane. I decide to just pull over.

"What is it this time, Ranger?" I waited with baited breath.

"I want you to go out with me this weekend. Dinner and dancing." Wow.

"And what is in it for me, Carlos?" He sighs.

I hope it is something good.

"I will let you use my handcuffs after dinner is over, Babe."

And we have a winner.


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him. I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **How about one from Morelli's POV:**

* * *

 **#9 The Hat Trick**

I was so freaking excited! I had won two seats in the station pool. They were center ice, nine rows back and in the perfect location for me to see all of the action. I was right behind the penalty box. I had agreed to let my girlfriend, Candace come with me, but she is not a Rangers' fan. She was wearing a dress for cripes' sake. I mean don't get me wrong, she was beautiful, but she was not what you would call a deep person. She was a pharmaceutical rep and she tended to like more girly things.

"Joey, did you get the snacks?"

I sighed. I tended to wait for the vendors to come to me, but fine. I get up and muscle my way through the crowd until I get to the hot dog line.

I get bumped from behind and I turn to snap at the person to find it is a little girl and her brother and they are shoving each other. Both of them are dressed in Rangers jerseys and jeans. The boy has a backwards cap on his head and the girl has a headband. They were cute and about 7 years old. They had stopped with the shoving and now they were threatening each other.

"Raphy, please do not shove me again. I would hate to have to injure you. You would miss the game."

The boy snorts.

"Mari, please do not issue threats that you cannot back up. You know that I can beat you."

The girl looks at her brother with loathing.

"I will just take your collection of movie posters and burn them."

The boy glares at his sister.

"Then I will just have to sell your collection of cars on the internet. I think that I will have a buyer easily. Then I can buy new posters."

The little girl screams a little and pulls out a gun on her brother. He does not look concerned.

"Just give me a reason to do it, Raphy!" I move the crowd back. These kids are crazy!

"Mari, you know that Mom will be upset if you shoot me. You will get my jersey dirty."

He is worried about his jersey? I look at the little assassin and she has a deadly aim and a very serious expression on her face.

"Are you scared, Raphy? I have you and I will not miss. Apologize."

He looks at his sister with a bored expression on his face and very quickly pulls his own gun and aims it at her heart.

"Do you see that you cannot beat me, Mari? I train all the time while you just mess with your cars and computers. What were you doing the other day? Baking cookies? How domestic of you."

His sister takes off the safety on her gun.

"You ate the cookies, didn't you? What is wrong with me doing something with Dad anyway?"

What? She baked with her dad? I had to focus on the fact that they both had guns. What kind of security did they have at this place?

The line moved and the kids moved with it while they still had their guns trained on each other. The boy sighed.

"Fine, I am sorry that I said you could not do the obstacle course with me, Mari. I just did not want you to be hurt. You are my sister and I am supposed to protect you." The girl nods at him.

"Fine, I will call off the bomb, Raphy. I am just as deadly as you." She puts her gun away and yells into the crowd.

"Stand down, Mikey!"

Another kid, a year younger shows up and he is putting things back into his backpack. Where were their parents?

"You always take her side, Mikey. I am your big brother." The younger boy shrugs.

"Girls are scarier than us, Raphy. You know that. Mom is scarier than Dad, right?" They both shudder and then straighten up when someone calls them.

"Kids! Were you holding each other at gunpoint again? I told you not to do that in public! Why can't you behave? You know what? Maybe we should just go home."

They all band together in the face of their angry mother. What? Is that Cupcake? She still looks amazing; not at all like a mother of three.

"Mom, calm down. We were just playing. Nobody got hurt and no clothes were ruined. We even made up! It's almost our turn and we can get hot dogs. You like hot dogs, right?" The little girl is trying to calm her mom down. Cupcake sighs and runs her hands through her hair.

"Fine. I am glad that you all made up. Was Mikey going to be backup for you again, Mari?" The little girl preened.

"You know it, Mom. Where is Dad?" She looks around.

"He is looking for vegetables or tree bark or something. You know how he is." All three kids shudder again.

"I hope he does not get those vegetable kabob things. They taste horrible, Mom." She kisses her oldest son on his forehead. He looks like her a little, but his coloring is darker. The line moves again and that is when she notices me.

"Oh wow! Hello, Joe. Kids, this is Joe Morelli. We grew up in the same neighborhood." The kids give me the once over and nod and turn back to their perusal of the crowd.

"Hello, Cupcake." The kids look at me sharply. Damn, they look scary. The little girl stands in front of her mother.

"It has been a while, Joe. Are you here with someone?" I smile and nod.

"Yes, my girlfriend is waiting back at our seats." She smiles politely at me and pulls her son away from some guy.

"But, Mom! He was staring at your behind!" She rubs his shoulder.

"Raphy, people have eyes and they can use them, but when they try to touch, then you can shoot him." What?

"How can you condone them shooting people, Cupcake? Why do they have guns anyway?" She snorts.

"Joe, they are paint pellet guns and they have guns because they like them. Raphy could hold a gun when he was a year old. So could Mari here." What a benchmark to be proud of.

"So, you got married after all, huh, Cupcake?" The kids glare at me. What is their deal?

"Yes, she did, Morelli." It can't be. I look over and see Manoso. He looks the same, except he is wearing jeans and a jersey like the kids.

"Mikey, please put that grenade away." What?

"Dad, he called her Cupcake like three times! She does not like it, either. Grownups are too nice! If you call me a name I do not like, I am going to let you have it." Manoso sighs.

"This is why we had to come to your school, Mikey. Behave, now or no climbing wall later." The boy gasps.

"You promised!" Manoso gives him a look and he puts the grenade away.

"Why do your kids have weapons?" Manoso smiles a small smile.

"They take after their mother."

I look at Cupcake and she is wearing cute capri pants and a jersey that fits her like a second skin, but I notice that she is armed and that her purse has another noticeable bulge in it. What was going on?

It was my turn and I bought my snacks and stalled while they bought theirs. Manoso looked pained at the amount of junk food the kids and Cupcake bought.

"Babe, that stuff'll kill you." She kisses him briefly and the kids yell that it is gross.

"Stop nagging me, Batman. I will work it off later." She winks at him and herds the kids to their seats which happen to be right next to mine. Wonderful.

Cupcake sits next to me with the kids between her and Manoso. The little girl sits next to her dad and even eats one of his vegetable things without shuddering. He smiles at her and ruffles her curly hair. I hand Candy her snacks and turn to Cupcake.

"What did Manoso mean that the kids take after you, Cupcake?" She smiles.

"I got Ranger training and I work as a trainer for women and kids in self-defense. I am usually always armed."

Throughout the game, I barely pay attention to Candace. I keep looking at Cupcake. We cheer for the team and I notice that she holds her youngest on her lap for part of the game. She explains some things about the players to him and she stops another argument over the last hot dog by breaking it in half for the oldest kids. They smile at her.

"You are a good mother, Cupcake. I always knew you would be if you just tried it." She looks at her kids and at Manoso who winks back at her.

"Joe, when we were dating, you tried to force me into a mold. You gave me ultimatums. You wanted a stay at home mother who was a Burg wife, right?" I nod at her.

She shakes her head and smiles at me. "I work, Joe and the kids sometimes used to come with me to work. I cook, but so does Carlos. We make our own rules. We are not Burg and we don't even live in Trenton anymore."

I knew that. Her mother had almost had to be committed when Cupcake had moved away. She would not tell anyone where she moved to. She just said that she was taking charge of her life. I never realized that shortly after that happened, you never really saw Manoso around anymore. Things were run by Santos these days.

"I guess you always were different, Cupcake." I hear the safety being taken off of a gun and look into the eyes of the youngest Manoso.

"Mister, my mom has a name. She uses yours. Be respectful and use hers." They are very protective of her. It would be cute if they were not banding against me.

"Sorry. I have always called her that. I will try to watch that in the future."

He stared at me and then he put his gun away again. I did not even see him draw. These kids were good.

She laughs and kisses his head again. "If you promise not to shoot anyone, when we get home, you can pick the movie, Mikey." He beamed and kissed her cheek and raced to tell his siblings.

By the end of the game, I had observed the kids and their parents. They moved around a lot and changed seats. They all ate the vegetable things, despite their earlier teasing of Manoso and he let them climb all over him. It was weird to see him behaving like a normal guy.

We all stood up to leave and I motioned to Cupcake. "It was nice seeing you, Stephanie." She smiles and it is still the beautiful smile I remember.

"The same to you, Joe. I heard about your promotion to Captain. Congratulations." I smile.

"Thanks. Well, you take care." She smiles and picks up her youngest, who is a little sleepy. The other two are following their father.

"I will. You do the same." She waves and leaves and approaches Manoso. He takes the kid and she hugs the other two and they leave together.

All I can think is that that could have been my life with her if I had not tried to force her to be someone that she is not. Who would have thought that Manoso would ever settle down and with three kids?


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him. I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli:**

* * *

 **#10 Do me a favor**

I woke up to my phone ringing and I grabbed it. "Babe, I need a favor."

He sounded horrible. "Hey, Ranger. What's up? Do you need medicine or something?"

"No, Babe. I need you to come here and pick up a package and take care of it until it is picked up. Please."

Wow, he said please. This must be serious. "I am on my way, Ranger."

I get dressed in a grey hooded sweatshirt that had mickey mouse on the front and cargos. I even had my gun. I left my hair loose and drove my POS ford Taurus to Rangeman.

I parked and went into the lobby and Tank was standing there with a little kid. She was skipping around him in circles and she was wearing little jeans and her sneakers lit up. When she faced me, I saw that she had curly brown hair that was almost like mine and she had a Minnie mouse sweatshirt on. She saw my sweatshirt and ran towards me.

"Hello! I am Sienna. I am five and there is no kindergarten today. Mommy is at work and Daddy is at the hospital with Abuelo. Tio Ric is sick! He said that his best friend would come and get me! We get to do whatever we want all day!"

She is a little dynamo and she is adorable.

"Hello, Sienna. I am Stephanie. You can call me Steph. Can you let me talk to Tank for a minute?" She smiles and skips around the lobby. I turn to face Tank. He hands me a note.

I open it and it says, "Please Babe. She cannot stay at the office all day. I trust you. Have her back by 1800 hours. Take a company car." He signed it Love, Carlos. He must be delirious. I sighed and took the keys and her backpack.

"Come on, Sienna. Let's do a bathroom break and then we can go and have fun."

She cheers and Tank lets out a breath that he was holding, and we go and handle that business. I take the car that lit up when I touched the button on the keyring. It is a blue trail hawk that is suspiciously my favorite color and Sienna plays a cd that she brought with her. I like Beyoncé, too.

We stop at the Tasty Pastry and I notice that it goes quiet when we enter. Sienna stares at the Boston crèmes like I do and we get six and leave.

We repeat our shopping at Givenchy's and at the Walgreen's. We had decided to have a picnic and we went to the new park and ate our food. We played with the bubbles I bought and we looked at the leaves and the clouds.

We just hung out. She was a cool kid and she did not scare me as much as kids usually did. Plus she liked to talk. Sienna was telling me about the fact that she did not have a dog and asking me what she should say to convince her parents to get her one when a shadow fell over us.

I pulled Sienna behind me and stood up to face Joe Morelli, my on again, off again boyfriend. We were headed to an off stage because he had declared that I should stop working my job and I refused. It was the same old argument.

When was he going to realize that I liked working? Who wanted to sit around all day and wait for a man to come home? Anyway, he was standing in front of us with his hands on his hips and he was breathing heavy. What was wrong with him?

I pick up Sienna because she was pulling on my shirt. She leans on my shoulder and I pet her hair as a reflex. Maybe she needs a nap. Did she still take naps? A throat clears and I look at Morelli again. His nostrils are flaring.

"Yes, Morelli?" He glares at me and gestures to Sienna.

"What's with the kid, Cupcake?" Sienna looks up at that moment.

"You said your name is Steph." I smile at her and glare back at Morelli.

"My name is Steph, Sweetie. This man forgets that sometimes." She relaxes again. Morelli tries again.

"Why do you have a kid, Stephanie?" He says my name like it is a curse word. I did not like that one bit.

"I am watching her for a friend. We are having fun, right, Sweetie?" She smiles at me and hugs my neck.

"Si! Steph is awesome! We had donuts and sandwiches and fruit and juice! We played bubbles and hopscotch!" Joe does not look as amused as I am.

"What friend, Stephanie?" I look him in the eyes. Surely he can guess?

"My best friend, Ranger, Joe. Can't you see the family resemblance?" He looks at Sienna and she smiles a 1000 watt smile. She is cute.

"Why are you watching a kid that is not related to you?" Is he deaf?

"Ranger asked me to and he cannot watch her right now, and it is a slow day for a Friday, so I took the day off and I am watching her. Why do you care?" He glares at me harder. I am so glad that he is not a superhero.

"I care because I have been getting calls all morning and afternoon about you going around with a kid. People think that she is yours and that you have hidden a kid from me all this time." They need to get a life.

"So, you came to check that they were not right or what? If I had a kid, I would not hide it. What kind of person do you think I am, Morelli? You need to stop letting rumors and gossip run your life. You could have just called me like a normal person. You always think the worst of me. You are worse than my mother."

"Steph, I need the bathroom."

I kiss Sienna's head and set her down. I pack up our picnic things and we throw away our trash. We walk to the car and Morelli follows us.

"I don't like you playing house with Manoso."

If I was playing house with Ranger, I would not be in a park while he was at his apartment. I look at Joe. He must have never played house before. No, he was too busy playing choo choo.

I strap Sienna into the child seat and smile at her before I close the door and walk to the drivers' side door.

"Morelli, I am not playing anything with Ranger. He asked me for a favor and I agreed. Move away from the car. She has to pee."

He does not move away, but he moves in closer.

"Give her back to Manoso. If you want a kid to play with, all you have to do is agree to marry me. We can have all the kids you want." He sounds ridiculous. Besides there is a difference between a kid and a baby.

"Look, Morelli. I do not have time to placate you right now. You are not making any sense and no thank you to the getting married thing. You have a nice day now."

I get into the car and he calls me immediately. I drive towards Rangeman and I see that he is following me. Wonderful.

I refuse to answer the phone and we pull into the garage, leaving Morelli to park on the street. I use my keyfob to take Sienna to Ranger's apartment. We tiptoe to the bathroom and she uses it.

I check on Ranger and see that he has kicked off his covers. He is in a tee shirt and pajama pants. I cover him and get a cool rag and wipe his face and arms. I refill his orange juice and set out his pills. Before I leave the room with Sienna, I kiss his forehead.

Sienna decides that she wants to see a movie. I tell her that we have to watch it at Ranger's apartment and she agrees, so we go out for snacks at Walmart for our mini movie marathon. She wanted to watch Tangled and the Incredibles.

We got a cart and Sienna was inside it and we picked out our snacks. We even got beef jerky and I let her talk me into graham crackers. I added the marshmallows and chocolate bars. We were back at the car, that I loved by the way and Morelli was there waiting for us. Sienna shook her head and let me put her into the car. I faced Morelli.

"Why are you following me around like a creepy stalker, Morelli? What would your mother say?" He growls at me, but I have been shot at, so that does not scare me.

"I told you to give her back! No girlfriend of mine is going to be acting like a mother to Manoso's kid." Now he is delusional. Is he threatening me? What is with the flailing arms?

"Morelli, Sienna is not Ranger's child. She is his niece. I do not take well to ultimatums. Today you have been really condescending and stalkerish. I do not want that type of relationship. We are definitely through now. Please stop following me around before I call the police."

I get into the car.

"I am the police, Cupcake!" I shake my head. Was he always like this?

"That guy is acting like Yosemite Sam, Steph."

I look in the rearview mirror and see Joe stomping around in the spot where I left him. He is having a tantrum. Whatever.

We get back to the building and we watch our movies. Ranger's sister Juanita comes to get Sienna and she endures the rapid fire speech that Sienna gives her about our day.

"Thank you for watching her. I did not know that Ricky was sick." I smile and hug Sienna goodbye.

"It was no problem, Juanita. She was fun. Take care and be good, Sienna."

She smiles and leaves with her mother. I go back to Ranger's apartment to check on him and he is not in the bed, but the shower. I change his sheets. Ella had shown me where she kept them. I went and grabbed the tray in the kitchen and heated the soup and got him cranberry juice this time and wheat rolls. I set it in the living room and waited.

Ranger came walking slowly into the room in different pajamas. It was the ones I bought him for his birthday and they had the batsignal all over them. He sat next to me and I wrapped the throw around his shoulders and put the tray on his lap.

He was worn out, so I moved it to my lap and convinced him to let me feed him. Poor Ranger. That stakeout the other day in the rain must have really done him in.

"No, Babe. It was Santos. He gave me his cold. I rarely ever get sick. Thank you for taking Si-Si today. She had begged to come here and then I was too sick to play with her."

I guess I still think out loud sometimes. I fed him some more soup and then I held the straw to his lips so he could drink the juice.

"It was fine, Ranger. I had fun with Sienna. We had a picnic and we played bubbles and hopscotch and then we watched movies out here while you slept." He smiles.

"I know, Babe. I had Manny and Cal on you, today." I should be mad, but I am not. It was his niece. He takes my hand and I stroke his hair. He has it loose. He looks younger like this.

"It was you, too, Babe. I heard about Morelli following you around. Did you like the car?"

"Did they wake you up to tell you about that?"

He shakes his head. "No, Babe and answer the question." I link our hands together. If he gets me sick, I will snack him.

"I love the car, Ranger."

He smiles and it is only like a 500 watts today.

"Good. It is your birthday present, Babe."

What? My birthday was next week.

"Ranger, you do not have to buy me a car! I have a car that works."

He leans closer to me.

"No you don't, Babe. That car is in car heaven right now. Just accept the gift. Please." He was using a lot of pleases today. I do like that car a lot.

"Fine, but you cannot buy me anything else for a year." He chuckles.

"Okay, Babe. Thanks for taking care of me." I smile at him.

"You are my best friend, Ranger. You would do it for me." He kisses me gently. He really was going to make me sick.

"Did you really break up with Morelli, Babe?" I lean back.

"Hell yes! He was so creepy and domineering today. Ew. Who needs that?" Ranger lets me pull him so that his head is resting in my lap. He is almost asleep again when I hear him say something.

"Good." What?

"What, Ranger?" He smiles and does not open his eyes.

"I said it is good that you are not with Morelli anymore, Babe." I agree with him and I watch Ghostbusters while he sleeps. I could get used to this.


	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him.**

 **I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli:**

* * *

 **#11 Poker Face**

Lately, Joe has been acting weird. He has been saying that I need better insurance.

He gave Bob away to an actual farm. He said that he could not have him always jumping on everyone and that he needed the wide open spaces.

He had juice the other day when we ate pizza and watched the game and he asked me if I take vitamins. Sure I take vitamins when I can remember them. He went out and bought me new ones.

He asked me why I wear high heels and wasn't it harder to run in them? I glared at him and told him not to mess with my shoes.

Also, he complimented me on how well I take care of Rex. He is a hamster. He is easy to take care of. Joe's behavior was bugging me.

I know he is lying to me when I ask him what is going on, because he gives me his cop face and tells me that nothing is going on. As per usual, I did my laundry and ran to the store to pick up things I was out of. Trojans had come out with a new condom, so I bought a box.

When I got back to my apartment, I put my things away. Rex would be munching on some choice veggies this week. Maybe I should eat some, too. Nope. That was just temporary insanity.

I opened my bedside table to add the condoms and the older ones felt different. I could not put my finger on what the problem was. I stared at the packaging and then I noticed it.

I held it up to the light. There were tiny holes in each condom. There were like ten or fifteen tiny holes in each condom. Right through the wrapper. I never noticed it, because Joe had been the one to grab the condom before sex.

What the hell? This was not happening to me! I suddenly felt dizzy and like I could not breathe. I started to hyperventilate and grabbed my phone and pressed speed dial one. I needed help and maybe I needed some bullets for my gun.

"Yo, Babe." I breathed into the phone, but no words came out.

"Babe? Do you need me?" I wheezed and barely got out the word yes, before he hung up.

I counted the ruined condoms and there were 10 of them. That meant that I had used 2 of these fuckers! Oh my god! Why would he do this to me?! I want to kill him, but all I can think about is that I basically had unprotected sex with this asshole two times in the past week. What was I going to do?

My locks tumble and I hear running footsteps and then my bedroom is filled with Ranger, Tank, Bobby and Lester. Great. They will all witness my dilemma.

Ranger approaches me. "Babe, what is wrong?" I hold up the condoms and put a few of them into his hand. He looks at them and his expression hardens. He looks so scary right now.

"Beautiful, was this a booty call? We can leave and let you two have some privacy." Bobby smacks Lester on the back of his head.

"Can't you see that she is upset, Santos?"

"Little Girl, what is wrong and why does Ranger look like he wants to shoot someone?" I sigh and hand Tank a condom.

Even though he blushes a little, he looks at it and then passes it to Bobby and he passes it to Lester. I put my head in my hands. This is a nightmare.

"Babe, how many are missing?" I sigh.

"Two, Ranger." He sits next to me and takes my hand.

"I will help you through this, Babe. Do not worry." He is so sweet.

"Actually, Bomber, you are going to be fine. We can check you for STDs again if you want, but two weeks ago when you refused to go to the hospital for that dog bite, you agreed to let me give you some shots and I gave them to you. One of the shots was a tetanus shot and the other was a birth control shot. It lasts for six months. I told you about it then. Don't you remember?"

I feel like the sun comes out and the choir sings. I sigh with relief and run over to hug Bobby.

"Bob, you were babbling in medical speak and giving me shots in my ass. I blocked out that whole experience. Thank you, though. I will get tested for STDs. I cannot believe he did this to me."

"Well, unless you want to let us kill him, we should go, Beautiful. When you want to get some revenge on him, let me know."

Lester kissed my cheek and left with Bobby and Tank, who ruffled my hair.

Ranger was still mad. So was I. It was an underhanded thing to do to someone and now I realize that he has been trying to set the stage for me to be pregnant with the vitamins and the different foods and not drinking beer. What a louse. I sit next to Ranger again.

"You were coming to rescue me again, huh?" He smiles a little.

"Babe." That means of course.

"Well, this is it for me. I cannot ever trust him again and I would resent any children that came from that relationship. Thank you for coming when I called. I have somethings to do. I will call you later, okay?"

He hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead.

"Sure, Babe, or you could just come over. It's poker night and the guys all love when you play." I giggle.

"That is because they can read me so well." He smiles at me and tucks my hair behind my ear.

I walk him to the door and lock it behind him. I pack up anything of Morelli's and head to his house. I have my field kit that Ranger gave me. It has gloves, a mask, a knife, bandages, and all of that good stuff. I take the knife and I start with his couch and I poke holes into the leather in a similar circular design. It almost looks cute.

I work my way through the living room poking holes into his furniture and the walls, and then I go upstairs. I poke holes in everything, his pillows and his sheets and his tee shirts and the condoms that he has in his nightstand.

Funny how these have no holes in them. So he was just trying to get ME pregnant. I wonder who else he was having sex with. Never mind. I do not care. Whoever it is, she can have him.

I go back to my apartment and I take a shower and change into a long sleeved blue tee shirt that says "I'm a Bad B*&#!" and a denim skirt that has ruffles on it and some blue tights and my black boots that come to my knees and have a heel.

I put on my black jacket that Ranger had Ella buy for me and I left my hair loose. I left and made it all the way to my car, when Morelli called me. I answered on speaker phone and drove to Rangeman.

"Yo." He growled. Heh heh. That always irks him.

"So I got us vegetable lasagna from my mother for dinner, Cupcake. Meet me at my place. I even have dessert. Did you take your vitamin today?"

I had flushed those fuckers after I read the label. They were high in folic acid. I googled that and it was important for pregnant women. I should run him over again. Instead I calmly answered him.

"Actually, I have plans already for tonight."

I was a half of a block from Haywood by now. Good.

"What plans?"

I sighed with relief as I pulled into the garage.

"I am playing cards with a few friends. Nothing too wild. You have a nice night, Morelli."

"You too, Cupcake and come see me later. We can still have dessert. Take your vitamin."

He hangs up. What a great guy. Not!

Ranger meets me at his door and opens it. He looks delicious in jeans and a brown tee shirt that looks painted on.

"Hey Babe. You came!"

He looks so happy to see me. I smile and hug him.

"Yup. I needed a safe place to hang out. I broke up with Morelli, but he does not know it yet. Actually, I need to make a call."

I call Mary Lou and tell her the whole saga. She is as mad as I am by the time that I am finished.

"Wow, Steph. I would have done more damage than that. I probably would have set something on fire. I love my kids, but Lenny would never do that to me." Fine, just rub it in.

She keeps talking. "I will spread the word that you dumped Morelli because he tried to trick you into getting pregnant, but that you are on the shots anyway. You are lucky that Bobby is your friend."

Don't I know it! We hang up and I found Ranger in his living room and sat down next to him.

"You okay, Babe?" Yup.

"Yes, I am okay, Ranger. Now let's go and play poker. This time, I will not lose." He chuckles.

"Babe, it is just monitor duty."

"Whatever, Ranger. You guys are going down!" He smiles and leads me to Lester's apartment.

I smile and go to have some fun. When Morelli calls about the redecorating I did, I just tell him that I was following his lead. He yelled that I was a menace and he did not know why he put up with me. I told him that he did not have that problem anymore and that everyone would know by tomorrow that he poked holes into my condoms. He denied it and I said that I had witnesses that saw them.

He said that I would come back when I realized that I was probably pregnant. I laughed and told him that I was already on the birth control shots, so I was not pregnant.

He screamed that my mother would hear about this and I screamed that his would, too. She hated me and when she got a load of this story, she was going to let him have it. I finally got tired of the argument and said that if he bothered any more of my things, I would let the guys get him and I hung up.

"You ready, Bomber?"

I smiled at Bobby and nodded. Damn they were all so gorgeous. I licked my lips and sighed. I looked around the table at the guys and the guys all smiled at me, except for Ranger who winked at me. I really need to work on my poker face.


	12. Chapter 12

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him.**

 **I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli. This one is a little long, but I could not stop it:**

* * *

 **#12 You Distracted Me**

I was dressed to kill and I knew I looked good. My LBD had a halter neckline that was lined with sequins to give it a sparkly look. Really, it just made my cleavage look better.

Ranger had taken a very long time placing my mic, and he offered me a nightcap after the distraction. He said that he would make sure I had something sweet in my mouth. All I could think of was him covered in chocolate cake.

I hate that I had to turn him down. Stupid guilt. I told Morelli that I would be working late tonight. I did not specify what I would be doing, because who needs another argument, right? Anyway, at Ranger's request, I was wearing thigh high stockings with my 5"FMPs. The hem of my dress just barely hid the tops of the stockings.

I took Lula's advice earlier today and had a slight auburn rinse added to my hair. My curls were loose and they seemed to glow to me. I did not have too much makeup on, just mascara, a little eye shadow and lip gloss.

I strolled into the Golden Slipper and I could hear the guys inside saying things in my ear piece. I knew there was Woody behind the bar, Lester at the pool table and Manny at a table with some guys I did not recognize. Lester whispered that he would love to take me home after this was over and got called to the mats. Ranger was so touchy.

I sat at the bar and crossed my legs and the guys moaned again. Heh heh. I was waiting for Billy Desmond. He was wanted for date rape. He always took the girls back to their place and drugged them and there you go. Sometimes the creep would rob them, too. Vinnie was disgusting for bonding this guy out.

I am hoping that he will pick me tonight because I want to kick him in the nuts really badly. The creep. I drank three fake long island iced teas before Lester told me that Billy was coming my way. Wonderful. He sidled up to me and smiled his movie star smile at me and ordered a drink. He was good looking, but he had nothing on Ranger.

"Babe, focus." Dammit, did I say that out loud?

I turned my attention to Billy. He winked at me and I made myself blush.

"Are you here alone, Gorgeous?"

I grinned at Billy. "Not anymore."

He laughed at that and moved his chair closer to me. His cologne was way too strong. Was that Aqua Velva? What did he do, bathe in it? But still, I smiled at the creep. He had better not touch me.

"My name is Will." He holds out his hand. Dammit, I jinxed myself.

I held out mine as well. "I'm Michelle."

I took my hand back and surreptitiously wiped it on my dress.

"What are you drinking, Gorgeous?"

I giggled and acted a little tipsy. "Long Island Iced Tea."

He licks his lips at me. Ew. Why am I doing this? Oh, right. Because I will earn $15,000. Liar. You will do anything for Ranger. I do not have time to get nagged by my shoulder angel right now.

He orders me a drink and Woody makes a show of pouring extra vodka into it. Billy nods in appreciation, and when he turns back to look at me, Woody switches the glasses and hands me another fake drink. Maybe he used to be a magician.

I take the drink and allow Billy to think that I am really feeling it. I flirt really heavily. Everything he says, I turn it into a double entendre.

"What are you doing after you leave here, Gorgeous?" I bat my lashes at him.

"Myself if I don't get a better offer."

The guys moaned and Ranger said I should remember his offer. Billy leaned in and looked down my dress. "How are you getting home? You do not seem alright to drive."

"I could really use a nice long ride." I say it slowly and wink at him. He chuckles and Lester volunteers for more time on the mats with his bawdy response. It is a good thing that I am supposed to be drunk because I giggle at the guys again.

Billy really makes his move. "Why don't you let me take you home, Gorgeous?"

I open my mouth to answer him and Ranger curses in my ear. What was his deal? Lester says trouble at 6 o'clock and I look at my watch and figure out that someone is behind me. Great. With my luck it will be Joyce Barndhart.

I look at Billy. "Sure you can take me home and maybe then you can just take me." He smiles a smile of victory and then something awful happens.

"I knew you were cheating on me, Cupcake!"

Oh, man! Why does he have to ruin my op? I almost had Billy out of here!

Joe stands there breathing hard and I smile at him and shake my head. "You must have the wrong girl, man. My name is Michelle. Did you have one too many or something?"

He glares at me and I unconsciously move closer to Mr. Aqua Velva. I am between a rock and a hard place, or a dumbass and a smelly place. Can't Morelli see all of the Rangemen here?

"How long have you been stepping out on me, huh? I should have known something was up when you kept saying you were too tired for sex! We haven't fucked in a month!"

My mother will hear about this, I am sure. The music stops and the place gets quiet. Lester says, "No way."

I try to keep my face impassive. If I do not react, then he will look like a drunk, temper tantrum having idiot. He waves his arms and continues his diatribe. My nose is stinging from the cologne fumes.

"You don't cook. You don't take care of the boys and you have a horrible job. You claimed you were working late, but I guess this is what you have been doing the whole time, you lousy fucking tramp!"

I blacked out, because when I came to, I was strangling Morelli and banging his head on the floor while straddling his chest.

I keep mumbling, but I guess it is not mumbling because Lester cannot contain himself. He steps forward out of the crowd.

"Geez, man. She said your boys are tiny and hairy. That's jacked up."

Morelli screams at me because Manny has lifted me off of him.

"You cheating whore!" I reach back and punch him in the face as hard as I can, and just because he ruined my fucking op, I kick him in the crotch. He sinks to the floor again. Good. I look around and I do not see Billy.

Lester puts his arm around my shoulder. "Sorry, Doll. Your guy had to go. Maybe I can buy you a drink and we can get you some ice for that hand."

He winks at me. What? That was $15,000 that this asshole just lost me. I stepped forward to punch him again, but Lester held me back.

"Babe, we have Desmond. Nice twist with the distraction. Did you and Morelli plan that?"

Is he fucking kidding me? I growl and stomp out of the bar.

"I was kidding, Babe." I continue to ignore him all the way over to his car.

"It was not funny, Ranger. He meant what he said to me. How could he say those things to me? He was not even drunk or anything. He has no excuse."

He let me into the car and went around got in as well. "Babe, take off the wire." I sigh and take it off and give him the ear piece.

"Babe, do you want me to be honest, or do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?" Damn, it must be bad.

"I will take the honest answer, Ranger." He sighs again.

"Babe, he always yells at you and you take it. He screams insults at you in public so often; most people think it is normal. You yell at him, too, but you stay with him. That implies that you are willing to tolerate that behavior. I know he has accused you of cheating before. Today may be the first time he actually called you a whore, but he has thought it."

Is that true? Ranger keeps talking.

"He has not ever shown you respect, Babe. Has he ever offered to help you or to give you training? Does he ever congratulate you on your captures or crime solving? Has he thanked you for clearing his name?"

No to all of the above. I guess Morelli thinks that he does not have to. Ranger is not finished.

"I guarantee he will show up at your door thinking things will go back to normal. He might even get you to apologize for punching him. The money for the distraction will be wired into your account, Babe. You looked really beautiful tonight."

I had been staring at my lap for his speech, and I looked up and noticed that we were at my apartment. Ranger had just been brutally honest with me and as he talked, I pictured many scenarios in my head. He was right. Oh, God. How could I become that woman?

I think that the only reason I did not "take it" tonight, as Ranger said, is because he interrupted me while I was working. I did not want to ruin the job for Rangeman, so at first I was just irked that he showed up, but when he called me a whore, that was it for me. Even if I put up with all of the other crap, it was over now. Stick a fork in me, I am done. My night started out so well, too.

I look over at Ranger before I got out of the car. "Thanks for telling me the truth, Ranger. You have a nice night."

"Sure, Babe. Call me if you need me."

I went to my apartment and flopped down on the couch. I decided to be proactive. I called my mother.

"Hello."

"Hi, Mom. It's me."

"Stephanie Michelle Plum, do you know what time it is? Are you injured or something? I told you to get a nice job at the button factory or the personal products plant. Then you would not be calling me from the hospital."

"Mom, stop inventing gossip. I am not at the hospital. I just finished work and I earned $15,000 tonight and a rapist is back in jail. Guess who almost ruined that, Mom? Joe Morelli. He came into the place where I had almost captured the guy and started insulting me. He called me a whore and a tramp, Mom." She gasped.

"Yup. In front of all of those people, so I punched him in the face and I kicked him in the groin. I will not apologize for it and I am not getting back together with him, either. He lies to you and you believe him over your own child. I know he will call you in the morning, so you can believe what you want. I mean what I said. Goodnight, Mom."

I was about to hang up.

"Did you only punch him the one time?" What now?

"No, I stangled him too." She giggled.

"Good. Even if I hate your job because it is dangerous, I know you are not a tramp or a whore. The nerve of that man! I am calling his mother! Goodnight, Stephanie. You should probably put some ice on your hand. I am baking pineapple upside down cake tomorrow. See you at 6pm."

She hung up. Wow. That was almost like she hugged me. Go me!

There was angry banging on my apartment door. Why me? I dialed speed dial #1 and Ranger answered.

"Yo."

"Yo yourself. You said to call if I needed you."

"Do you need help with Morelli, Babe?"

"Nope. I need a ride, Ranger. I need a nice, long ride. See you soon!"

I hung up and congratulated myself on making him speechless and smiled.

I took a shower and I raced to my closet and dressed in the army pjs the guys bought me. Well, they had Ella buy them for me. The top was kind of tight and the shorts were really short. I think Ranger asked her to get the wrong size again.

Joe was still banging on the door, so I put on my robe to answer the door.

He was standing there looking agitated. He glared at me and I glared back. "What took you so fucking long? When did you change your locks? Did you have to punch me in the face, Cupcake?"

I ignore his first two questions.

"Nice shiner there, Morelli. What do you want?"

He scowled at me. You know, he spends most of his time around me looking angry. He is like a cartoon character. Madeyes Morelli. I hold in my giggle.

"I want you to let me in and take care of me tonight, Cupcake. We can make up." Hell no.

"We cannot make up. You do not want to be with me, Morelli. You do not respect me and you do not like me. If you did, you would have treated me better. I do not want to be with you. You are mean and you yell all the time and you are selfish. You never take me out and you are not supportive. Leave me alone before I punch you again."

He swells with indignation. "You know that no one else will want you, Cupcake. You live like a college student and you hang with thugs and hookers."

This is the best that he can do?

"Whatever. Go away. I am not your problem anymore. If you call me another name, I will shoot you in your tiny boys, Morelli."

He bangs on the wall and storms down the hall. I wave at my neighbors.

"Hello, Mrs. Katz. Tell Gram I said hello." She gives me the thumbs up and we all go back inside our apartments. I walk into my bedroom and see that someone is already in there.

The only thing stopping me from screaming is the smell of Bulgari. Ranger is sprawled on my bed in just a tee shirt and silk boxers. He also has a plate with a huge piece of chocolate cake on it. He knew my fantasy! I walk over to him and sit beside him.

"You climbed the fire escape looking like this?" He smiles.

"Nope. I had on more clothes, Babe. I was parked down the street when you called me and I saw Morelli drive by. I heard some of your argument at the door. Good job."

"Where did you get the cake?" He picked up the fork and fed me a bite.

"I asked Ella to bake it earlier in the hopes that you would come over tonight. When you called me back, I had it delivered."

I moan over the taste of the cake and at Ranger's nibbling on my neck.

"Thank you, Ranger. You are so amazing. You are sweet to me all the time and I ignore it. I am a horrible friend!"

He kisses me gently. "Stop that, Babe. You were maybe a little blinded or something before, but you always thanked me. You helped me when I asked and you never said no to me. You are a great friend, Babe."

I blush a little and he feeds me more cake until it is gone. "Didn't you want any, Ranger?" He gives me the wolf grin.

"I prefer pie, Babe."

With that, he attacked me. Hell yes, Batman! I am so glad that he prefers pie. He prefers it so well! When I come back to reality, I am shivering a little and my whole body is tingling. My voice sounds really husky when I make an observation.

"But what about my ride, Ranger?" He flips us and settles me on his lap.

"Giddy up, Babe."


	13. Chapter 13

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him.**

 **I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli. This one is thanks to a request by Shellbell78:**

* * *

 **#13 Work it**

Okay. This really happened. Calm down, Stephanie. Look on the bright side. It could be worse. My right shoulder angel is a dumb blonde today. My left shoulder angel, who is really a devil, pimp slaps her for me. Well, I did shave yesterday so at least it does not look like I have Buckwheat in a headlock or anything. Nope. That is not good enough.

I cannot believe that son of a bitch handcuffed me to my shower rod with my own fucking handcuffs. Once again, that fucker saw me naked and I swore that after what happened that time on the FLOOR of the Tasty Pastry, he was NOT getting another taste of this. Not that he tasted it anyway. He was such a one minute man. Oooh! I can sing while I decide what to do, because I am not McGuyver and I cannot get out of these cuffs.

 _Break me off, show me what you got, cuz I don't want no one minute man. Ooh!_ I danced from side to side and hummed to myself. I love Missy Elliott.

I am only cuffed with one arm and I managed to reach my cell phone, but NOT a towel. Okay, Stephanie. You have to call for help. Should I call 911? Nope. I do not need a room full of angry paramedics laughing and taking pictures of me. My arm is starting to fall asleep. I have to get free before that asshat shows back up.

Should I call my dad? Oh, the horror! I can imagine him showing up with his spare key and having a coronary right on the floor and I will STILL be stuck like this. There was only one person I could call that would be discreet and that could break in and get me out of these handcuffs. This is a job for Batman! Fine. Maybe I am starting to get a little delirious. There is a nice echo in here, too. I am also apparently talking out loud.

Was this really a good idea? He would see me naked. But, he would see me naked! Hell yes. Decision made.

I call him, and he answers sounding a little sleepy. "Yo." I smile. He is so sexy.

"Yo yourself. So, I am stuck handcuffed naked to my shower rod and I need some help to get lose."

"Who is this?"

Damn, that hurt. How many people call him naked anyway?

"It's Stephanie Plum, Ranger."

He made an aggravated sound and then there was nothing. I looked at my phone. He hung up on me. Why would he hang up? Oh. I must have sounded like I was trying to seduce him. What a wonderful idea! I called him back.

"Yo!" He actually growled this time.

"Look, Ranger. I have been handcuffed against my will and I am naked and my arm is starting to fall asleep and if you won't come and help me, my dad will have a heart attack and the paramedics will take pictures of me!"

He sighs. "Babe, is this for real?"

"Yes! Please come and get me free. Morelli is a rat bastard and I want to shave his head and do a ritual with his hair so that he stays bald forever!"

He laughs.

"ETA ten minutes, Babe."

He hung up again. He is so dreamy, but he has horrible phone manners. I count the tiles and mentally remodel this god awful bathroom and then I start to hallucinate because I swear I could see my shoulder angel being choked to death by my shoulder devil. I wonder what that is about?

I have to snap out of it! I will sing another song while I wait. I am naked and I am dancing and singing with my eyes closed.

 _I'd like to get to know ya, so I can show ya  
Put the pussy on ya, like I told ya  
Gimme all your numbers so I can phone ya  
Your girl acting stank then call me ovah_

I shake my shoulders and flip my hair. I am moving my ass in circles.

 _Not on the bed, lay me on your sofa  
Call before you come, I need to shave my chocha  
You do or you don't or you will or you won't cha  
Go downtown and eat it like a vulcha_

I rub my hip and continue my dance. I am the bomb at this.

 _See my hips and my tips so cha  
See my ass and my lips don't cha  
Lost a few pounds in my waist for ya  
This the kinda beat that go wa ta ta_

I shake my shimmy and my breasts bounce to the beat. Go me!

 _Ra ta ta ta, ta ta ta ta ta  
Sex me so good I say, "Blah blah blah"  
Work it! I need a glass of watah  
Boy oh boy it's good to know ya_

Is it worth it, let me work it  
I put my thang down, flip it and reverse it

Suddenly, I smell Bulgari and I open my eyes. Great! Ranger is standing in the doorway staring at me. Now he caught me looking like a fool naked AND singing my naughty girl song. My hair must look like a wild mop right now. Ranger smirks at me.

"Babe. Let me help you out of those cuffs and then maybe you can sing that song for me again. Slowly."

Wow. He looks amazing for someone who was sleeping when I called. He has left his hair loose and it brushes against his shoulders. His tee shirt looked so tight on his muscles. Maybe he should take it off. I love his low rise cargo pants and wow he looks so dangerous. And he smells so good.

He opened the cuff and caught me when I collapsed into him. Mmmm. His muscles are so awesome up close. My arms are around his shoulders and I am pressed against him. What am I supposed to do now? Huh. I have to pee. I reluctantly push myself away from his delectable body.

"So, thanks. Do you think I could trouble you to hand me a robe or something out of my room? Plus, I have to use the bathroom right quick."

He gives me the raised eyebrow and takes off his shirt in that sexy backwards way that all men can do and I want to start singing again. That eight-pack is a thing of beauty. It made my mouth water.

"Babe, I will wait outside for you."

I throw caution to the wind and kiss him. He kisses me back and we make out for a few minutes. There is groping and lip biting and lots of moaning. I reach for his belt and he stops me.

"Babe. Finish what you have to do."

He kisses me gently one last time and then leaves the bathroom. I put on his tee shirt because I want to preserve some modesty. I take care of a few things like brushing my teeth and my hair while I am in here and I was about to moisturize my skin when I heard a commotion. I pick up my cell phone and check to make sure that I did not really call 911. Nope.

I exit the bathroom to see Ranger leaning against the wall in my living room with a handcuffed Joe freaking Morelli lying on the floor. Nice shiner. Why was he back here? That fucker! He came back to fake rescue me! I am still pissed that he saw me naked anyway. I stomp over to him and kick him in the leg. I was going to aim higher, but I was not giving him a bird's eye view of the Promised Land. I backed away from him and turned to Ranger.

"Hey! You caught him!"

He smiled and pulled me so that I was standing directly in front of him. He made a capture bare-chested. I have a bare-chested Ranger in my apartment! I rub his chest and he plays with my hair. I smile at him and he grins at me. We just stare at each other.

"Do you mind! Cupcake, get me out of these cuffs!"

I look at Morelli. I had forgotten he was there. He was struggling to get up, but he could not do it.

"Morelli, you are FTA. We are bounty hunters. It was dumb of you to come to my apartment again. Now we can turn you in, and Ranger will get the capture fee."

"Babe, it is your fee." I smile at him.

"Maybe we should split it, Ranger."

He hugs me close.

"If that's what you want, Babe."

"You know what I want, Ranger."

Damn, I must still be high off of my sex song.

"Cupcake, I am not guilty of killing anyone and you know it!"

Did I? I really do not know much about Joe as an adult. I mean, he is still a creepy voyeur just like he was when he was younger and he and his cousins did like to do things to cats. Who knows how he turned out as an adult?

"Babe, what do you mean he is still a creepy voyeur?"

Oh, man! I said that out loud.

"So, um, when I was 6 and he was 8, he wanted to play choo choo with me. I was the tunnel and he was the train."

Ranger walks over to Morelli and tightens his cuffs. He elbows him in the face, too. Morelli screams a little. He comes back and hugs me again and looks at his phone.

"Do you have a date or something, Ranger?"

He smiles a secretive smile at me.

"Why, Babe? Are you jealous?"

"Maybe. A little."

He checks the phone again. "Just a little, Babe?"

"Fine. I am terribly jealous. So, what's her name? Where does she live? Can she fight?"

He continues to grin at me.

"That's not important, Babe. She is a dancer. She has a great singing voice, too. I cannot wait to hear her hit the high notes for me."

Whew! It is so hot all of a sudden.

"Geez. Do you have to talk about some snatch while I am here?"

We both look at Morelli with disgust. There is a knock on the door and I realize that neither of us can really answer it.

Ranger yells. "Pick the lock, Santos!"

"Sure thing, Boss!"

Really? A few seconds later, Lester, Tank and Bobby come inside and shut the door. They look at Morelli and then they look at me and Ranger. Tank shrugs and Bobby stands Morelli on his feet. Lester, however, comes over to where Ranger and I are standing in a loose embrace.

"So, did Morelli interrupt you guys or what?"

I glare at him and refuse to answer.

"Morelli, tell Santos what you did to Stephanie."

Wow. When Ranger uses his drill sergeant voice, people snap to attention. Or maybe that is just my nipples. I try to inch behind him. He puts his arm around me and looks at me and licks his lips. Wow.

"I did not do anything to her, Manoso!"

Ranger does not even raise his voice or turn away from our staring competition. "Now." Damn.

"Fine. She was getting on my nerves trying to take me in, so I handcuffed her to her shower rod naked."

Bobby smacks Joe on the back of his head. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to her?"

"I came back, didn't I? You have to let me go! I am not guilty. I just have to do more investigating so I can clear my name."

Lester turns towards Morelli. "You left Beautiful handcuffed to the shower rod naked? You left? You really are an idiot, Morelli. So, how did you get here, Bossman?" Ranger sighs.

"She called me to get her loose, Santos. Nothing happened. Calm yourself."

Nothing happened yet, Batman.

Lester sniggered and Tank looked away. Bobby just glared at Morelli some more. Ranger bit my earlobe.

"Guys, take Morelli in. Tell them that the capture is Babe's."

Morelli and I protest at the same time. "I am not guilty!"

"You said we were sharing it!"

"Babe."

"You know what happens to cops in prison, Manoso!"

"Not my problem, Morelli."

"Ranger!"

"We will discuss it later, Babe."

"Fine."

Ranger waves the guys off and they leave with a still struggling Morelli. The door closes and locks from the outside. How do they do that?

Ranger walks me towards my bedroom and before I know what happened, he takes the tee shirt off of me and sits in the chair that I keep I there. He looks at me expectantly.

"What?" He grins.

"Sing that song again, Babe. Feel free to shake your body over this way. You looked so good earlier."

I blush and start to dance and sing, and a few minutes later I hit those high notes he was talking about. Calling Ranger was the best idea I ever had.

 ** _A/N: That was an excerpt of Work It by Missy Elliott._**


	14. Chapter 14

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him.**

 **I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli.**

* * *

 **#14 Spare Me**

Today started out so great. I had spent the previous evening at Morelli's having meatball subs and watching the game. He did not try to get me to stay over. He said he knew that I had to work early, so he walked me to my car and gave me the smallest peck on the cheek and I left. He did not nag me or try to get me to quit my job or anything. I feel like I am finally getting through to him.

Ranger had hired me to work at Rangeman full time and at first, Joe had not been thrilled. I explained that I had benefits now and a better paycheck and he said that as long as I did not let Ranger give me a car, he would not complain. He said that Ranger was not my boyfriend and that some things, a man was supposed to do for his girlfriend. Whatever.

My used Camry was still running, so I agreed to Joe's little stipulation. We both know that when this car dies, Ranger will give me a new one to use. It was what he did. He liked looking out for me.

Joe also changed the speed dials on my phone. He was quite ticked off that Ranger was number one. He was childish. Ranger has been number one in my phone since forever. Anyway, I had decided to pick up donuts for the guys today, so I stopped at the Tasty Pastry and got three dozen. Ranger was not going to like it, but I could handle him.

I was halfway there when my back tire blew out. I wrenched the wheel and pulled to the side of the road. The car barely made it before it conked out as well. I could walk the rest of the way to the Rangeman building, but I did not want to leave this car here like this. I am only about a half of a mile away.

The skies opened up as I contemplated what to do, so I stayed inside of the car. There was no way I was walking in the rain, and what about the donuts? They would be ruined! I ate a Boston Crème and decided to call Ranger first. I pressed speed dial number two and he answered immediately.

"Yo, Babe."

"Yo, yourself, Ranger. Listen, I am going to be late."

"Did you oversleep, Babe? You know if you move into an apartment in the building, you will have less of a commute. I am willing to take you in as a roommate."

I smile. "I did not oversleep, Ranger. I am having car trouble." I hear him typing something.

"Babe, I can come and get you. Do not try to walk here in that rain with those boots you like to wear."

So he noticed my boots, huh? Stop it Stephanie! "No, I was just letting you know that I was running late. I will call Morelli to help me."

"Suit yourself, Babe. Call me if you need me." I whimper inside. I always need him. Snap out of it, Stephanie.

We hang up and I call Morelli. The call goes straight to voicemail and I leave a message. It is now 8am. I figure that he just got to the station and maybe he had a meeting or something. The rain starts to come down even harder.

I call again at 8:15 and at 8:30. I turn on the radio and sing along for a while. At 8:45 when he still does not answer the phone, I eat another donut. I have to get away from these donuts before I eat them all. I notice that every ten minutes, a Rangeman car drives past me slowly. They are sweet to check on me.

At 9:00, I call the station and they put me through to Joe's extension. He answers with an attitude.

"Morelli."

"Joe, I have been trying to reach you."

"What, Cupcake? Why the hell do you keep calling me? Are you turning into one of those clingy women? I am at work and I do not have time to reassure you or whatever. I will see you later."

He hung up. I did not even get a chance to tell him what was wrong. Clingy? He has a lot of fucking nerve! I call back and this time he is livid.

"What the fuck do you want, Cupcake?! Is this about an FTA or something? I thought that with this new job, you would not have these stupid escapades anymore! You are getting on my nerves and I am trying to work!"

"Morelli, you told me that the reason you changed your number on my speed dial to number one was so that I could call you when I needed you. First you ignored my calls. Now you are yelling at me and assuming that you know what is wrong. You are a real piece of work, Morelli. I have a flat fucking tire and my car won't start again. Come and give me a ride to work."

"I am not at your beck and call, Cupcake. If you have a problem getting to work, call Manoso. I am busy doing real work, not that fake secretarial shit he hired you for. You know he only wants you for one reason, right, Cupcake?"

"No, that is you that only wants me for one reason. This would not have happened if I took the new company car that came with my position, but I turned it down so that you would not feel bad, Morelli. Now you have the nerve to refuse to help me? You gave me that long assed speech about the fact that I am your girlfriend and that you would do things for me when I needed help. Well, I need help. Are you going to help me or not?"

He chuckles into the phone. "No and I never intended to. I just wanted to make sure that I was in the pool for when this car died. You just won me some money, Cupcake. The pizza tonight is my treat!"

He just pissed me off.

"No problem, Morelli. I am sorry to have bothered you."

I hang up with him and call Ranger.

"Yo, Babe. What happened?"

"The car died. Can you come and get me? Also, I need a raincoat or something."

"I am on my way, Babe. Cheer up. It is just a little rain."

He hangs up and I growl. I could have been at work already, but no I worry about the feelings of an asshole that does not care about me. He thinks I have a fake job and he yelled and screamed at me when I just did what he asked me to do. I would not have had to call Ranger that many times. He has never yelled at me like that. He is always polite to me.

There is a knock on the window and I get out of the car. He holds an umbrella over my head and holds up a long black hooded trench coat. I put it on and grab my purse and the donuts. He gives me a look and I smile as we run to his car.

"Babe, are you alright?"

I smile at him. "Yup. Can you take me to the store right quick?"

He grins. "Sure Babe."

We go to the store and I convince Ranger to buy me a bunch of bananas. We drive to the police station and Ranger goes inside while I put the bananas into Morelli's exhaust. All six of them. I race back to the car and see that he has towels inside. Good. Ranger comes out of the station and gets into the car and we ride to the building.

"Babe, were you caught on camera?"

I smile. "Nope. They don't work. Morelli told me that last week. They are not getting fixed until next month. Something about the budget or whatever. Thank you for coming to get me, Ranger."

"Babe, no problem. Now, you are late so you can make up the two hours however you want. Just let Tank know. No more donuts after today. Okay?"

That was more than fair. "Yes, Ranger. Thanks."

I take the donuts to Tank and we discuss my hours. I report to Tank, because Ranger said he could not be my boss. I start working and I eat lunch with the guys in the breakroom. I start a bet with Lester and all of the guys join in on it. We have fun planning a movie night and then I go back to working in the research sweatshop that Rodriguez has created for me. I really want to meet him.

I was almost finished my last report when I felt the tingle. I rubbed the back of my neck and turned to see Ranger looking at me.

"What's up, Ranger?" He smiles that wolf grin at me and I feel like prey.

"Have dinner with me, Babe."

I open my mouth to answer him when my phone rings. It is Morelli. I look at the time and it is 5:30pm. I send the call to voicemail. I had decided to work until 6pm today.

"What are you serving for dinner, Ranger?"

"We can have whatever you want, Babe." He means that, too. He is so nice to me.

The phone rings again and I repeat the action. This happens all the way until 5:45 and it stops.

Ranger is sitting next to me while I organize my reports. We stare at each other and he winks at me.

My desk phone rings and I decide to answer it on speakerphone and I record it.

"Rangeman, this is Stephanie."

"Why the fuck won't you answer your fucking phone, Cupcake?" Ranger leans forward and I take his hand in mine and rub it. He calms down.

"Morelli, because I was late this morning, I am still working. Must you yell?"

"My car won't fucking work and I need a ride home. Come and get me, Cupcake." He just ordered me to do something.

"Morelli, my car died today, too. I was going to ask you to pick me up from work. That sucks about your car. I know how it feels to have to replace your car all the time."

He is not amused. "Get a car from Manoso and come and fucking get me! It is still raining and I am tired and hungry."

"Morelli, are you saying that your car broke down today? Before you got home? Dammit! Lester beat me in the pool. Hey Les, you won!"

Lester cheers and we all hand him $10. "What do you mean you lost in the pool, Cupcake?" I smile at Ranger and he smiles back.

"I bet the guys when your car would break down. I said it would happen later tonight, but Lester said it would break down before you got home. You just lost me $10, Morelli. I guess since you won your pool today about my car, you can call a cab or something to get yourself home. Ask one of your cop buddies for a ride. I have work to do."

"If you do not come and get me, I swear we are through! How could you bet on my car? You know you are not really working. You are probably being passed around as we speak!"

I was going to remain civil, but if he insists on being a bastard, so be it.

"Fuck you, Morelli. We were through this morning when you left me stranded and refused to help me. You have cursed and yelled at me for the last fucking time. Good luck getting home and do not worry about whether I am being passed around. Every man here is a better man than you." I hung up the phone. Good riddance.

I look up and Ranger is still waiting for my answer. He is so patient. "About dinner, can I have dessert?" He smiles at me and I love his smile.

"Sure, Babe. I want dessert, too." I know just what he means too. Wowser!


	15. Chapter 15

**I do not own JE's characters, I just like to play with them. This will be my collection of one shots highlighting ways that Stephanie could break free of Morelli and break up with him.**

 **I have about twenty chapters already planned, but none of them will be related unless it is by a request. I will take some suggestions. Just let me know what you think.**

 **And now onto the way Steph breaks free of Morelli.**

* * *

 **#15 Actions Speak Louder Than Words**

I wish that the people with tiny hammers would please quit banging on my head. I open my eyes and realize that I am in a hospital. Great. What has happened to me? I moan from the pounding headache I have and suddenly I am looking at the most handsome man I have ever seen. Hello, Nurse! I cannot believe that he works here.

He kisses my forehead and I think that I am never leaving this hospital again.

"Babe. You are awake."

What? Since when do the nurses call you pet names and kiss you. Did I know this guy? I stare at him and he smiles at me. I decide to just go with the flow. Maybe he is my boyfriend or something. I do not want to make him sad that I do not remember him.

"Do you need some pain meds, Babe?"

I nod at him and that makes my head hurt even worse. He opens the door and says something and then I am swarmed by doctors and nurses. The good news is that I can leave. The bad news is that they want to call my mother because I cannot be left alone. I look panicked and I reach for the handsome guy's hand.

"Babe, you can stay with me if you want."

I look at him like Christmas has come early.

"Yes. I would like that very much."

"No problem, Babe." He smiles again. He is so handsome.

I try to make conversation with him. "So, have you been here long?"

He smiles at me again and wow. "Of course, Babe. I was not going to leave you here alone."

I do not remember who he is, but he has not left me and he must have been sitting here watching me all day. He cares about me and he wants to take care of me. Plus he keeps holding my hand and kissing my forehead. I must look a mess right now, or like Ronald McDonald's love child. He laughs a little.

"I love that you are speaking your thoughts out loud again. Babe, you look like you got hit on the head. Stop worrying. Do you need help in the bathroom?"

"Um, what do you mean by that?" He didn't mean what I thought he meant, did he?

"I mean that I can help you in the shower, Babe."

Just thinking about this man being naked with me gives me a hot flash. "Um, really?"

He looks me dead in the eye. "Babe, there is no reason for you to be shy. It is nothing that I have not seen before."

What? I blink at him. He has seen me naked? Maybe we are together. That would make sense. I nod and it does not hurt this time. You gotta love painkillers. We get me showered and he even washes my hair. I do not look at his business while we are in the shower, but the rest of him is amazing with a capital 'a'. Wowser. And this is the guy that calls me Babe and wants to let me stay with him. If I am dreaming, I do not want to wake up.

I change into the yoga pants and tee shirt that he left for me and I add more checks to the boyfriend column. He even has my underwear! They said Rangeman. That is a weird name for panties.

In the hospital room, he is not here, so I look over my discharge papers. I see his name, because I watched him sign the papers. Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Should I call him Ricardo or Ric or Ricky? They don't quite sound right. Maybe I should call him Carlos. Yes, I like that better.

He comes back, but he is followed by a hostile looking Joe Morelli. Of course I remember him. It seemed like just yesterday I was running him over him with Big Blue. Why is he here?

"I am ready to go, Carlos." I said it as a test and I watch his face. He smiles and takes my bag and puts the papers inside of it.

Morelli snaps. "Cupcake, you are not going anywhere with him!" I glare at Morelli. What was his deal?

"Why are you yelling at me? And stop calling me Cupcake! Everyone knows about the fucking bakery. You can stop bragging about it now, you pig!" I move closer to Carlos. He puts a hand on the back of my neck and rubs the spot. It feels reassuring.

Morelli looks pissed. "What do you mean stop calling you Cupcake? I always call you Cupcake!" I sigh.

"I mean that all I think about when you say it is that night. You ruined high school for me, you ass. Not to mention that you wrote about it like you were so fucking proud of yourself for having sex. My name is not Cupcake. Would you get out of the way? We were just leaving."

He growls and steps towards me and Carlos pushes me behind him.

"You never complained before." Why can't he just take a hint?

"Well, I am complaining now. Stop calling me that. I am leaving. Move out of the way." He does not move.

"Fine, Stephanie. I will take you home so you can rest." I shake my head.

"No, I am going home with Carlos. Thanks, anyway." He starts to look really pissed now. He waves his arms at me, but I am safe behind Carlos.

"You are not going home with Manoso!" I look at him like he is five years old.

"Yes, I am. You have a nice day, now." I step towards the door and pull Carlos with me and Morelli surges forward and in the scuffle, I am knocked to the floor. Dammit! My head is throbbing again.

I sit up and hold my head. I notice that Morelli is on the floor and that he has a broken nose and his eye is swelling up. Carlos helps me to my feet and hugs me.

"Babe, are you alright? Do you want me to call the doctors?" I shake my head no.

"I am okay, Carlos. Did you hit Joe?" Oh! I remember him! Why am I still calling him Carlos?

"Yes, Babe. He grabbed you and shook you a little and tried to hit you, so I knocked him out of the way. He could have hurt your head again. Not to mention that he was going to hit you, Babe."

He pulled me into a hug again. Ranger is right. Joe could have hurt me. I turn and stare at him like I do not know him. Maybe I don't. This was an eye opener. He was going to hit me. I cannot believe it, but then again I can. I turn to Morelli and say what I hope is the last thing I will ever have to say to him.

"See you, Morelli. I cannot believe you were going to put your hands on me. No one deserves that. I guess it's all in your genes, huh? Don't bother to call me anymore." He just sighs and looks embarrassed. Whatever. I notice that he did not apologize.

As I let Ranger strap me into the car, I giggle. "What's so funny Babe?" I look at him. "You took a shower with me and I had convinced myself not to look at your, um thing." He laughs out loud.

"You can look at it later, Babe. Let's just get you settled. Ella will fix your favorites." Wow. He always takes good care of me.

"Thank you, Carlos." He smiles and takes my hand.

"I am glad that you are calling me Carlos, Babe. You can stay with me as long as you like." Awesome. I may never leave.


End file.
